



■HpMMMRRft IB'S!! 


































Class 

Book ""fi b4 *4(3 

Copyright N°_ ^fyuy 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 


























































































r 








4 









MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 























2.S - zo43S 



Copyright, 1925 

By SMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANY 

(Incorporated) 



Printed in the United States of America 


PRINTED BY THE MURRAY PRINTING COMPANY 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 

BOUND BY THE BOSTON BOOKBINDING COMPANY 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 




■an. <5 


I 

O'* 



v 


TO 

“THE THREE ” 

Junior 

Vance 


Paul 





























STORY 

GNOME 


The Keeper of 
the Magic Books 
in the Silent 
Library of the 
Fairy Queen 



When Fairyland became invisible and part of all the vanished past 
The Queen called to her, Story Gnome— 

“Now are we gone into the Magic Books at last, 

With Evileye and Willowitch and all the fairy train 

Nor will the Earth with Earthland eyes behold our forms again. 

But here within these Magic Books we live throughout all Time 
To frolic forth whenever called by any Proper Rhyme. 

And you will guard these secrets close until that happy day 
A loving wish will summon us to children, tired with play.” 









































CONTENTS 


. , pace 

Little Boy Blue.1 

The Cat and the Fiddle.8 

Hickory Dickory Dock.15 

Little Bo-peep.23 

Goosey Goosey Gander.30 

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary.38 

Georgy Porgy.46 

Tom, the Piper’s Son.53 

The Three Ships.61 

Curly Locks.69 

Humpty Dumpty.76 

Little Miss Muffet.82 

Simple Simon.89 

Little Jumping Joan.96 

Little Tom Tucker.103 

See, Saw, Marjorie Daw.Ill 

Baa, Baa, Blacksheep.120 

Sing a Song of Sixpence.127 

Lavender’s Blue.133 

Hush-a-Bye Baby.140 













LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Little Boy Blue ....... Frontispiece 

PACE 

Boy Blue took the famous nap.3 

“Quick,” said Want.9 

He ran swiftly up the clock.17 

The Fairy Queen kissed her.25 

“Well plucked, Princess Loribell,”.31 

“The Joke’s on me,” said Evileye.39 

“Off to the King you go,” he roared.47 

Tune after tune poured forth into the morning sunshine . . 55 

“I am Rex,” he said humbly.63 

Father Galosh was fond of strawberries.71 

“Get a fire,” cried Form King.77 

Miss Molly Muffet screamed.83 

A tear rolled down his cheek ..91 

Suddenly Joan gave a jump.97 

“He shall have mine,” declared the Host .... 105 

Charcoal Gnome rested for the first time in a hundred years . 113 

Crybaby wept and ran away to Blacksheep .... 122 

The Birds rose joyfully.129 

“Lavender’s Blue, diddle diddle,” he sang .... 135 

Birds came and peeped at this sweet fairy creature . .141 







MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


* 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


LITTLE BOY BLUE 


Little Boy Blue , come blow up your horn! 
The sheep’s in the meadows. 

The cow’s in the corn. 

Where is the boy who looks after the sheep? 
He’s under the hay cock , fast asleep. 



ERHAPS you have wondered how Little Boy 
Blue happened to be asleep instead of watch¬ 
ing his sheep as he was plainly expected to 
do. This tale of the famous nap was the first 
one Story Gnome brought me. He twinkled 
into my room one morning looking as though 
he knew a thousand delectable secrets. “Oh 
yes, I always do,” he said, smiling at me. 

“Do what?” I asked. For I hadn’t spoken a word. I had 
smiled my good-morning. 

“I always know a secret,” he said. “And this is the very 
first one I have ever told. And no matter how many I tell, 
there will always be one secret more.” 

“It must be nice, always to know a secret,” I said. 

“It is,” he agreed. “And this is the first one.” And after 
reciting the rhyme above he told this tale. 

It seems that one time in Fairyland there was a fairy 
family, all blue. There are, of course, green fairies, and 

[i] 



MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


yellow fairies, and lavender fairies, all lovely. But the blue 
fairies are particularly lovely. And one day a dear little fairy 
boy came to live with Father and Mother Fairy Blue. 

He was such a dear child, so dear that no one could think 
of a name as dear as himself. So in the course of time he came 
to be known as Little Boy Blue. 

Now in the Fairy Kingdom every one is busy. And soon 
after fairy children are born they learn to be useful. Each 
one has a task which he must perform faithfully before he can 
be a grown fairy and go through Magicland to Earthland to 
visit Earth children like yourself and bring them good 
cheer. 

So when Boy Blue was old enough for a task he was given 
a Woolly Sheep and a Friendly Cow to care for. Every 
morning he took them into the bright sunshine, and each night 
he led them to their beds of sweet-smelling hay. They were 
great friends, these three. 

But even in the Fairy Kingdom there are unlovely things. 
Evileye, whose name in the elf tongue is Skyg, was one of 
them. He was a dour, sour fellow whose business was chasing 
smiles from people’s faces. When he caught a smile he popped 
it into his little black bag and kept it there. He lived in 
Magicland, a country that lies between Earthland and Fairy¬ 
land. And he longed to destroy the happy love that made 
Woolly Sheep and Friendly Cow and Boy Blue smile at each 
other so often. It wasn’t nice of him, of course, but that was 
his nature. 

One morning Evileye worked hard trying to chase the 
smiles from the faces of Boy Blue and his friends. But he did 
not catch a single smile. 

So he went away for a while to think in the Magicland 
that lies on either side of the Fairy Kingdom. At last he 
[ 2 ] 





















MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


decided to spirit away Friendly Cow and Woolly Sheep who 
were of the Fairy Kind and put in their places an Earth Cow 
and Earth Sheep for Boy Blue. Earthland and Fairyland are 
both wonderful places, but they are so different that Earthland 
Cows and Sheep do not get on any better in Fairyland than 
Fairy Cows and Sheep do in Earthland. 

So, one night when all the Fairy children were sleeping 
and their parents were busy with fairy concerns, Evileye spoke 
some magic words outside the house where Friendly Cow and 
Woolly Sheep were sleeping and they floated away to sleep for 
a long time in Magicland. Then he flew swiftly to Earthland 
and, with much tugging and pulling and pushing and leading, 
he brought Earth Cow and Earth Sheep to Boy Blue’s barn. 

In the morning Boy Blue ran to the barn to see his friends. 

“Good-morning,” he cried in the fairy tongue. 

And instead of the soft “moo-moo” of Friendly Cow he 
heard a great loud “MOO” and a great swish of a tail and a 
great stamping of feet. 

He was quite surprised, but cried a “good-morning” to 
Woolly Sheep. 

And instead of the pleasant “Baa” of Woolly Sheep he 
heard a great goatlike “BAA” and an impatient butting of 
the Earthland sheep’s head against the barn wall. 

Boy Blue was quite worried, the more so as his fairy par¬ 
ents were away just then, and quite busy counting the seeds 
that were to go into the sunflower hearts on Earth that fall. 

But he went bravely into the stalls and looked kindly 
into the great brown eyes of the Earthland cow. She was not 
a bad cow, but she was very hungry and she said to Boy Blue 
in a great loud voice: 

“I want my breakfast.” 

Boy Blue was astonished, for you must know that Fairy- 

[4] 


LITTLE BOY BLUE 


land people and animals eat only fairy meals and that all day 
long Woolly Sheep and Friendly Cow just stood in the sun in 
the green field and ate nothing at all. And at night they took 
the merest sip from a fairy brook and went happily to bed. 

Boy Blue did not know what “breakfast” meant. 

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t any breakfast for you,” he said. 

“You haven’t? Baa-d. Baa-d,” cried Earthland Sheep. 

And both he and Earth Cow looked quite angrily at Boy 
Blue. 

“I’ll let you into the field by the barn if you wish,” he 
said. “Perhaps you will find breakfast there.” 

So he opened the door and Earth Cow and Earth Sheep 
rushed out most impolitely. 

They fell upon the grass in the field before the barn and 
cropped it greedily. Then Cow looked up. 

“My, my,” she said to Earth Sheep. “Look what we are 
missing,” and she pointed her fro":’ ’ c* at the lovely meadow 
that lay on the other side oi the field. “And there, see the 
lush green corn.” 

“You may have the corn,” said Earth Sheep. “I’ll have 
some of that Four-Leafed Clover that grows in the meadow 
over there.” 

Then they both started for the more promising breakfast- 
land. Boy Blue ran after them, 

“You mustn’t go there,” he said. “Please don’t go there. 
Those fields belong to the Fairy Queen and no one ever goes 
in there to spoil her lovely fields. That one is a pop-corn 
field, you know, and the other is all Four-Leafed Clover.” 

But Cow and Sheep paid no heed and went stubbornly 
on. It was rude of them, of course, but then they were hungry 
and didn’t understand Fairy ways, so we can’t blame them 
much. 


[5] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Now Boy Blue began to suspect something was wrong. 
Evileye had made the Earth Cattle look just like Woolly Sheep 
and Friendly Cow, but of course he hadn’t changed their dis¬ 
positions any. 

However, Boy Blue didn’t have time to think and wonder. 
He ran in front of Earth Cow and headed her off. Then he 
ran in front of Earth Sheep and headed him off. By that 
time Cow had started toward the meadow again and Boy Blue 
trotted his short legs in front of her. 

Poor Boy Blue. He trotted and he ran. He ran and he 
trotted. At first he chuckled, for it seemed a funny game, 
but at last he was so tired, and Cow was so hungry, and Sheep 
was so hungry that it just seemed he couldn’t keep them out 
of those beautiful fields of pop-corn and clover any longer. 

Just then his cousin, Tom Tucker the singer, came along. 
He had a large piece of white bread and butter in his hand, 
and when Boy Blue had gasped out his story Tom Tucker 
politely offered Earth Cow and Earth Sheep some bread and 
butter. 

They were so hungry that they ate it, and while they had 
their heads down Tom cast a five-minute spell on them. All 
fairies can do this, but never when an animal is looking at 
them, so Boy Blue hadn’t a chance to try it. 

“Now you keep casting a five-minute spell on them for 
about an hour and I’ll see what I can do to help,” Tom told 
Boy Blue, and off he skipped with his magic skip to talk to 
his Godmother who was also Boy Blue’s. 

In a little time he was back. 

“Godmother is bringing Friendly Cow and Woolly Sheep 
back,” he said. “They were asleep in Magicland. And she 
will magic these Earth animals back home again. But she 
says that Evileye, who played this trick, must think it a sue- 
[ 6 ] 


LITTLE BOY BLUE 


cess or he will try another one. So she will put Friendly Cow 
and Woolly Sheep in the meadow and the corn. They are 
very quiet and good and she will tell them not to stamp about 
or eat anything. Then when Evileye goes past at four o’clock 
he will think you have displeased the Queen and be off to 
bother some one else.” 

So into the meadow went Woolly Sheep, and into the 
pop-corn field went Friendly Cow. And while they stood 
there patiently, never moving, glad to help Boy Blue, whom 
they loved, our tired little lad took that famous nap. Those 
who saw him sleeping while his charges stood in the very 
places they should not be were told the story and always 
smiled kindly at Boy Blue and Woolly Sheep and Friendly 
Cow. 

Boy Blue took them to their house when four o’clock was 
past and Evileye was intent on some other trick. 

Earth Cow and Sheep were most hungry when they got 
home. But Farmer gave them some hay and they soon forgot 
their visit to Fairyland. 



[ 7 ] 



THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE 


Hey diddle , diddle! 

The Cat and the Fiddle 
The Cow jumped over the Moon 
The Little Dog laughed to see such Sport 
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon. 

T was only a few days after Story Gnome had 
brought me the story of Little Boy Blue from 
the silent library of the Fairy Queen that he 
came in with another tale. He had found this 
one too in the magic books. And he looked 
very tired, for this story was recorded in a for¬ 
gotten tongue. It is the story of the Cat and 
the Fiddle, and truly happened in the faraway and long ago 
time. 

You will notice if you read the rhyme above carefully that 
all the nouns are capitalized. That is because this story is of 
that strange land where all the forms of Ideas live and breathe 
and speak. Even the Idea of dishes and spoons and every 
common thing is alive. This is a deep thought which you will 
understand better when you are older and study philosophy 
and metaphysics. There are two lovely words for you to 
think about, as Alice did of Latitude and Longitude. Only 
the Story Gnome could have found this story, for the language 
of these life forms of Ideas is very strange and erudite. There, 
that is the last big word in this story. 

It seems that Ideas often have a very hard time escaping 

[ 8 ] 






’Quick!’. Mid want tq dish and /poojg, "quick, now. ' 















MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


from Formland into the Earth where we live. We grope 
around for Ideas and need them terribly and finally our Wants 
get to Formland and if the Wants are earnest enough the 
Ideas come to Earth and we can use them. 

A long time ago people got very tired of eating with their 
fingers. It was quite messy, especially on Sunday when they 
had their best clothes on. So one morning a wee little Want 
came into Formland looking for something to take the place 
of fingers in eating. Now the King of Formland does not 
like to let his Ideas go unless he is quite sure they will be 
used and not die of neglect on this Earth. So he examines 
the Wants very carefully before he lets an Idea go. 

This Want seemed sure to die. 

“Fingers were made before dishes and spoons,” said the 
King. “I don’t believe they will really use this Idea on earth. 
I think Dish and Spoon had better stay here.” 

Next week the Want came back. He was much larger 
and quite sure that Dish and Spoon would be welcome on 
Earth. But the Form King said no. 

Next week the Want came back and this time he was so 
big that he swaggered before Form King and demanded that 
the Idea of Dish and Spoon return to Earth with him. 

Form King wasn’t feeling very well. He did not like 
swagger so he swore that Dish and Spoon should never go to 
Earth. 

“Let them eat with their fingers from their tables or the 
floor or wherever they like,” he roared. “Dish and Spoon 
stay here with me.” 

So the Want sat down to think. First he made himself 
very attractive. He became a lovely misty silver and rose 
in color. Then he went to see Dish and Spoon in their little 
House-Behind-The-Hill. 


[10] 


THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE 


“How would you like to come to Earth with me?” he 
asked of Dish and Spoon. 

“Is it all as pretty as you are?” asked Dish. 

“No,” said Want, for he was a truthful fellow. “But it 
is very important. If you will come to Earth with me you 
will have a place in every home. You will be washed and 
cared for every day. You will grow into thousands of shapes 
and forms, some beautiful, some ugly, but all useful and all 
very important.” 

“That would be nice,” said Spoon who was feminine and 
liked to feel important. 

“But,” said Dish, “how can we go? Form King is un¬ 
willing and I have never known an Idea to escape that Form 
King wanted to stay here. Besides we would miss the party.” 

You see Form King always gave his Ideas a great party 
to make them happy before he let them escape into the world, 
for he knew that often they were lonely and neglected for a 
long time after their arrival. 

“I will give you such a reception on Earth that you will 
never regret missing the party here,” promised Want, making 
his lovely colors glow and dance in the breeze. 

“Well, we will think about it,” promised Dish and Spoon. 
“Come back next week and we will let you know.” 

So Want drifted back to Earth and was shocked all week 
by the sight of people eating with their fingers from ugly 
wooden trenchers that were terribly hard to keep clean. 

When he returned to Formland he went straight to the 
King. 

“Never,” shouted the King, getting red in the face. “And 
don’t you go trying to coax Dish and Spoon to run away 
either.” And he stamped his foot and looked very angry at 
Want. 


[11] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Want hastened away to the House-Behind-The-Hill. Be¬ 
fore he went he made himself all silver and turquoise with a 
soft cloud for a scarf. 

But when he came to the house behind the hill he was 
terribly surprised. For Little Dog barked and growled at him 
and tore a hole in the fleecy scarf before Want could get him 
quiet. Form King had put Little Dog there to guard Dish 
and Spoon. 

But Want spoke softly and persuaded Little Dog to let 
him speak with Dish and Spoon, and as they spoke Earthtalk 
which Dish and Spoon had been studying all week, Little Dog 
did not understand what was going forward. 

“We would like to go,” said Dish and Spoon. “But with 
Little Dog there ever so faithful we just can’t.” 

“Perhaps I could bribe him,” said Want. 

“Oh, no,” said Dish. “He is ever so faithful and he 
never sleeps.” 

“I really want to go to Earth ever so badly,” said Spoon. 
“Besides it is tiresome here with Little Dog on guard. We 
never get to go out any more at all.” 

So Want sat down to think. He thought a long time and 
he rose with quite a change in his appearance. In fact he 
was ugly and determined looking, sort of a dark brown with 
purple trimmings. 

“Will you go if I fix it so that Little Dog does not bite 
you?” he asked. 

“We will, we will,” they promised, just a little frightened 
by his dark appearance. Want hurried away to see Cat. 

Cat had never loved Little Dog, in fact even then except 
under unusual circumstances, they were enemies. 

Yes, Cat would dearly love to play a trick on Little Dog. 
Especially if it were a very smart trick. 

[12] 


THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE 


Yes, Cat could play the Fiddle, though she knew only 
one tune, “Over the hills and far away.” 

“Fine,” cried Want. “That’s an ideal tune for our pur¬ 
pose. My plan is a very odd one. Is Cow your friend?’ 

“Indeed she is. I thank her daily for the milk she gives 
me,” purred Cat. 

“Now I have only to see Moon and the plan is ready.” 
cried Want, and off he floated to talk to Moon and to learn 
how to mix silver and gold so they made a lovely costume 
which Want called Moonmist. 

But here he met with an obstacle. Moon simply would 
not take a chance of having Cow knock off a bit from his rim 
as she sailed over. When he was at the quarter it would not 
be so bad, for his horns were sharp and she would be sure to 
jump high enough to clear their points. But while he was 
full as he was now he would never never let Cow or any one 
else try to jump over him. 

So at last Want decided to wait a trying time until Moon 
was in his first quarter again. 

All that time he had to look on the Earth People, growing 
more numerous every day, scooping up food from wooden plat¬ 
ters with their fingers. Really it was dreadful. Sometimes 
the children even wiped their fingers on the front of their 
dresses and that was too awful to speak about. 

So Want kept on thinking and planning and seeing the 
proper people until everything was all ready for his great 
experiment. 

* * * 

Little Dog lay snoozing on his paws in front of the House- 
Behind-The-Hill one night when he heard music. It was 
queer music he thought, as though some one were playing a 
fiddle close by. Up in the sky the Moon in her first quarter 

[13] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


rocked gently as though enjoying the music which seemed to 
be one tune played over and over. Little Dog was not fond 
of music but he found himself almost hypnotized by this 
dreamy tune played again and again on the Fiddle. 

“It’s a pretty night,” he said half aloud. And that was 
remarkable, for Little Dog did not have an artistic soul. 

Just then his dreaming had a shock. Up, up, over the 
Moon, trying to be graceful, rose Cow. Huge, awkward, four¬ 
legged, long-tailed, Cow. 

It was too much. Little Dog threw back his head and 
howled with glee. 

“Quick!” whispered Want to Dish and Spoon. “Quick! 
Now!” 

They slipped through the door just as Little Dog gave 
an extra howl at Cow flirting her legs high to escape being 
hung on one horn of Moon. 

Then up through the air floated Dish and Spoon hand in 
hand with Want in his moonmist dress. 

They were warmly received on Earth as Want had prom¬ 
ised them and are still quite happy and important here. 

Little Dog ran to the King. But King, too, had laughed 
so hard at Cow jumping over the Moon that he forgave Little 
Dog and together they laughed at Cat who had hoped in this 
way to make King angry at Little Dog. 


[14] 


I 


HICKORY DICKORY DOCK 


Hickory , Dickory, Dock! 
The mouse ran up the clock . 
The clock struck One . 

The mouse ran down . 
Hickory , Dickory , Z)oc&. 



| HERE was a twinkle in Story Gnome’s eye the 
morning he flitted in with the story of Hickory 
Dickory Dock. It is just another of the thou¬ 
sand and one delectable secrets that Story 
Gnome knows. Isn’t "delectable” a lovely 
word? And this is a very important story, 
because in it for the first time you meet Willo- 
witch—Willowitch, whom all the fairies loved—and feared, 
just a little. She is an ugly old woman, but her heart is beauti¬ 
ful and her mind is wise. 

It seems that off in a corner of the Fairy Queen’s Library 
hangs a fair picture. It is of a young girl who is beautiful 
beyond words. I shall not try to tell you about her. Just 
imagine a person who made you think of Spring Wind; and a 
Clover Field in Summer; of a Thistle Seed floating in Autumn 
sunshine; and a Clear Night at Christmas time. She was 
lovelier than all these, lovely to look upon and with a spirit to 
grace her beauty. And best of all she was just a little naughty, 
just naughty enough to be lovable. But we’ll get on with the 
story. 


[15] 



MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


This fair young girl was the daughter of Hickory Dickory 
Dock. 

His friends often called him “Old Hick,” though never 
to his face, for he was a terrible old fellow to see when he was 
angry. And he was very dignified. 

He had sealed up his heart when his wife died and only 
unlocked the least little corner of it for Mignonette, his only 
child, the fair young girl of the picture in the Fairy Queen’s 
Library. 

But with this little friendly corner of his heart he loved 
Mignonette devotedly and was human enough to enjoy her 
naughtiness, as on the time when she put three lumps of 
sugar in the Cowslip Tea of a very fat and disagreeable per¬ 
son who had come to call and wished to reduce. Of course 
Old Hick scolded his daughter but he enjoyed this little joke 
a great deal in a quiet way. 

In the course of time Mignonette grew up. Girls do, even 
in Fairyland. She had been very well educated and could 
make pillows of Milk-Weed Down, excellent Cowslip Tea, and 
a delicious as well as economical cake from Butternuts. 

Old Hick was getting on in years and wished to see his 
daughter married. But he had peculiar ideas. He himself 
had been poor as a boy and he and Mignonette’s mother had 
been very happy while they were poor. He did not have much 
of an opinion of princes, even though his friends told him that 
only a prince was worthy of Mignonette’s beauty and talents. 

So when one day Mignonette came in for tea with a prince 
she had met at the Court of the Fairy Queen, Old Hick 
frowned tremendously. 

“Who was that fellow?” he bellowed at Mignonette when 
tea was over and the prince had flown home to dress for dinner. 

“Only Prince Charming, Father,” said Mignonette. 

[16] 































































































































































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“Never heard of him,” growled Old Hick. 

“Oh, all the girls know him,” cried Mignonette. “Every 
friend I have dreams of Prince Charming.” 

Old Hick looked mollified, for Mignonette’s friends were 
all sensible girls even if they were extremely pretty. 

“Can’t say that I like him,” he grumbled, however. “I’ve 
asked Sandalson, the Woodcutter, here for dinner. Mind that 
you have plenty of Honey-pie for us tonight.” 

Mignonette said nothing. But she felt very unhappy. 
She and Sandalson had played together from childhood. He 
was a dear simple fellow who adored Mignonette but wished 
to marry Matilda, the daughter of a neighboring woodcutter, 
a fine strong girl who loved him and who could tend the scorch¬ 
ing fire that turned the great logs Sandalson felled to charcoal. 

She knew that her father wished her to marry Sandalson 
and that Sandalson so feared her father’s wealth and power 
that he would never refuse her hand even though he ate his 
heart out for the comradely Matilda. 

However, she set about making the Honey-pie and as she 
put on a dress of Midnight Blue sprinkled with real Star Dust 
she thought far more of Sandalson than of herself. For as yet 
she thought very little of Prince Charming. And she knew 
well how Matilda and Sandalson longed for each other. 

That night when dinner was over, Sandalson sat timidly 
across the room from Hickory Dickory Dock while Mignonette 
sang sweetly of the summer night. The father leaned forward 
and spoke to the young woodcutter. 

“Have you been thinking of getting married?” he asked. 

Sandalson, who had been dreaming of Matilda, nodded 
and blushed. 

“It is all right with me,” said Old Hick. “And what I 
want Mignonette wants too, don’t you, daughter?” 

[ 18 ] 


HICKORY DICKORY DOCK 


Mignonette stopped singing. 

“I will not marry Sandalson,” she said. Then she came 
and stood by her father. “Let me stay with you and keep 
your house. I love you and you love me, why must we think 
now of my marriage?” 

Sandalson breathed a great sigh of relief. Surely this 
would settle everything and he could wed his Matilda. For 
he feared the rich and powerful Hickory Dickory Dock so much 
that he would never dare disobey any command the old man 
might give. But Mignonette was different. Sandalson looked 
gratefully at the girl. 

Old Hickory Dickory glared at his daughter. 

“You will marry Sandalson and that right soon,” he roared. 
“You shall not set foot from this house until you step forth to 
your wedding with Sandalson.” 

Mignonette drew her lovely self to her very tallest and 
spoke through her little white teeth. 

“I will not marry Sandalson.” 

Old Hickory Dickory Dock looked very angry, and a little 
sad. For he loved his daughter and wished her happiness 
above all other things. 

He sent Sandalson home and Mignonette to her room. 
Then he sat down to think. 

Mignonette was clever. He must find some way of keeping 
her in the house or she would slip out and marry this Prince 
Charming or some other worthless fellow. 

So off stepped Hickory Dickory Dock through the dark 
night to consult with Willowitch. 

Willowitch is quite the ugliest person in the world. And 
most unfriendly. 

Hickory Dickory Dock was not afraid but he spoke his 
business shortly. 

[19] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“I want a spell to keep my daughter in the house,” he said 
loudly. 

Willowitch threw him a mouse. 

“All women are afraid of these,” she said. “Put him in 
the doorway.” 

“I must have something more,” said Hickory Dickory. 
“My daughter is very clever and very headstrong.” 

“Like her father,” muttered Willowitch. “Here is a spell. 
Command the Clock never to strike one. Until the Clock 
strikes one, Mignonette is powerless to leave her room.” 

Now while Hickory Dickory was about consulting Willo¬ 
witch, Prince Charming was riding over the country on a 
Dappled Cloud. 

He had been thinking of Mignonette with her voice that 
made him think of the Wind in Spring. So he turned his 
Cloud to her window and saw her there looking out very sad 
and mournful. 

“What is it, Mignonette?” he asked softly, floating close 
to her casement. 

“I am very unhappy,” said Mignonette. “I am not to 
leave this room until I go to marry Sandalson the Woodcutter. 
He will be very unhappy with me for a wife. I have never 
learned to tend the charcoal fire, and Sandalson really loves 
Matilda. Besides, I do not love Sandalson. Father is very 
cruel.” 

“Could you learn to love me, Mignonette?” whispered 
Prince Charming. 

Mignonette drew back from her window. Love Prince 
Charming? Go to live in his palace where the windows are 
made of Lovers’ Sighs and Dreams-Come-True? 

“I do not know,” she faltered. 

“Mignonette,” whispered the Prince. “Do you know what 

[ 20 ] 


HICKORY DICKORY DOCK 


your name means? Little Darling. I shall call you that. 
Come, Mignonette, Little Darling, come with me on my Dap¬ 
pled Cloud.” 

Mignonette stretched out her hand to his. But at that 
moment the spell began to work and she could not move from 
the room. 

Prince Charming stayed until he heard Hickory Dickory 
Dock coming, then he flew away on his Dappled Cloud to his 
palace with the windows made of Lovers’ Sighs and Dreams- 
Come-True. 

Now began lonely days for Mignonette. At first she eyed 
Mouse all askance. But soon she came to love him and to talk 
with him and tell him all her troubles. Still she never tried 
to pass the doorway and Hickory Dickory Dock believed that, 
like all women, she feared Mouse. 

Day by day Mignonette told Mouse her story and nightly he 
heard her whisper to Prince Charming, who came always on his 
Dappled Cloud. 

“It’s a shame,” said Mouse one day as he brushed his whis¬ 
kers, pride of his heart, “that these two lovers should be parted. 
I haven’t seen my family for a long time. I’ll just go and visit 
them tonight and while I’m away Mignonette can join her lover 
and I’ll say that I got tired of watching. Willowitch can’t 
harm me, for I am of the Smooth People.” 

So saying, he went off to visit his wife and play with the 
new baby. 

But when he returned there sat Mignonette more forlorn 
than ever. 

“Oh, Mouse, where have you been?” cried the fair young 
girl. “I have missed you so. I have been so lonely for you.” 

“Why didn’t you go with Prince Charming while I was 
away?” asked Mouse. 


[21] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“Alas, there is a spell upon me. Until the Clock strikes 
one, I can never leave this room. And the Clock has been 
bewitched.” 

‘Til soon fix that,” said Mouse. “Send for Prince Charm- 
ing.” 

So Mignonette sent a wish from her window through the 
dream windows of Prince Charming’s palace and in a moment 
he was at her side on his Dappled Cloud. 

“Now,” cried Mouse. 

He ran swiftly up Clock, and, seizing the bell hammer, 
struck “One,” quite loudly. 

Mignonette stepped through the window to the Dappled 
Cloud. Mouse watched her sail away with Prince Charming 
and then curled up for a nap. 

Hickory Dickory Dock was really relieved. He had grown 
tired of having Mignonette shut in her room and only kept her 
there to maintain his authority, for Sandalson had run away 
and married Matilda the day before. 

So they all lived happily, Old Hick, Prince Charming and 
Mignonette, Sandalson and Matilda, and Mouse, whose wife 
had begun to get very fussy over his being away from home 
so much. 



[22] 



LITTLE BO-PEEP 


Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep 
And can t tell where to find them. 

Leave them alone and they’ll come home 
Bringing their tails behind them. 

ITTLE BO-PEEP was a dear friend of Mignon- 
ette, Hickory Dickory Dock’s daughter. They 
■ Wr * ; were girls together and loved each other 
dearl y> though the story I am about to tell 
3 Y ou happened long before Mignonette went 
with Prince Charming to live in his palace 
where the windows sang of Dreams-Come-True. As soon as 
Story Gnome came twinkling in on a sunbeam he said, “This 
is the tale of a sweet shepherdess, can you guess, can you guess, 
can you guess?” 

“Bo-peep,” I said promptly. I think he was disappointed 
that I guessed right the first time. It really wasn’t very tactful 
of me, was it? But that didn’t spoil the pretty story that he 
told that sunny day. 

When Little Bo-peep came into the Fairy World she was 
the first girl in a large family of fairy brothers. Her parents, 
of course, adored her. They named her Eustasia for a mortal 
who had once done Bo-peep’s mother a great kindness. But 
that was such a responsible name for this brown-eyed fairy that 
it soon was changed. Bo-peep’s mother used to hide her face 
behind her hands, then part them suddenly and say “Boo.” 
The little girl would laugh and answer “Peep,” just like a 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


merry, fluffy Easter Chicken. Soon the whole family played 
this game and one morning Smallest Brother cried, “Hello 
there, little Boo-peep.” All the family liked this pet name and 
gradually “Boo-peep” became “Bo-peep,” because that was 
easier to say and soon the fairy mother would tell strangers, 
“Yes, her name is Eustasia, but we call her Bo-peep for short.” 

Bo-peep, like Boy Blue, grew old enough to do her share 
of work in the Fairy Kingdom, and, like him, made friends with 
all the animals. So she was given the care of two Woolly 
Sheep, and each morning woke them from their dreams and 
each evening drove them with gentle pokes of her crook back 
to their beds. 

By the time she was a big girl she felt very well acquainted 
with her Woolly Sheep and quite ready for the test that is given 
all the fairy people before they are taught the spells and magic 
words that make it possible for them to help mortals. 

But I am sorry to say that being the only girl in a large 
family of brothers and having nothing but a pet name she was 
rather spoiled. Once in a while she pouted and on one dread¬ 
ful occasion she forgot to paint her Woolly Sheep with the 
magic brush that keeps them white as snow in Fairyland. She 
loved to play and felt cross sometimes when her Woolly Sheep 
took so much of her time. 

But she was so dear and so gentle with Woolly Sheep that 
they loved her and did not mind if she left a few little dark 
spots when she brushed and painted them. However, when 
Bo-peep’s godmother came around one day she saw that the 
Woolly Sheep were beginning to look quite speckled. 

“This will never do,” she said to herself. And next day 
she came again. Woolly Sheep were still speckled and in their 
stubby tails were several knots that Bo-peep had failed to 
brush out. 


[24] 





T«E FAlIJYqUEEN STOOPED AND 
PUT TIER ARMS* ABOUT LITTLE 
BO-PEEP AND KIT/ED HER.— 
































































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Godmother could not bear to have her god-daughter fail in 
the fairy tests. Besides, she had permission from the Fairy 
Queen to teach Bo-peep a very special magic word when the 
time came, and if spots were found on Woolly Sheep she would 
never be able to tell Bo-peep this Magic. 

So next morning when Bo-peep went to take Woolly Sheep 
out to pasture she found them looking so ashamed. Their 
tails had been magicked away. Such sorry, unfinished-looking 
sheep they were. Bo-peep was terribly distressed—though I 
must tell you that first she had to go back to the house to 
get her face straight, for these tailless Woolly Sheep did look 
so funny. 

“Have you any idea how this happened?” she asked them 
a few minutes later. 

“Not one,” answered Older Woolly Sheep. “When we 
woke up this morning our tails, our lovely soft white tails, were 
gone.” 

Bo-peep looked sober. She knew that their tails were not 
always so white and soft as they should be. 

“Did it hurt?” she asked. And she shuddered. For she 
did love her Woolly Sheep and her kind little heart was quite 
torn at thinking that they might have to suffer. 

“Oh, no,” said Younger Woolly Sheep. “I am only sorry 
that I cannot frisk so well in the wind today with my tail 
gone.” For many animals use their tails as rudders to help 
them keep their balance and this is especially true of Fairy 
Sheep. 

When Bo-peep’s family saw Woolly Sheep they were very 
much alarmed. For the next day came the fairy testa and 
they had taken great pride in believing that Bo-peep might 
become a Maid-in-Waiting to the Fairy Queen. With her 
Woolly Sheep looking so queer there was danger that she 


LITTLE BO-PEEP 


might not even have her five-minute spell extended to the ten- 
minute spell that the grown fairies all know. 

Woolly Sheep had not realized how serious the loss of their 
tails might be. And when they heard the family talking so, 
they were very sad, for they loved Bo-peep and wanted to see 
her go to court. 

As they stood talking to each other about this dreadful 
occurrence they suddenly had an idea, both at the same time. 
They would go to find their tails. 

And when the family looked out an hour later, Woolly 
Sheep had both vanished from the meadow. 

Now there was consternation indeed. Woolly Sheep gone! 
What could they do? The fairy tests tomorrow and no fat, 
sleek Woolly Sheep for Bo-peep to show as proof of her accom¬ 
plishments. 

But Bo-peep felt worst of all. 

“I don’t care a bit about all the old fairy tests,” she sobbed. 
“I just want my dear Woolly Sheep. They love me so and I 
love them so. Oh, I just can’t bear to think they may be lost 
in Magicland.” Magicland is the twilight country that lies 
between Fairyland and Earth. 

So she cried and mourned for the lost sheep and got her 
pretty brown eyes all red and was not at all an attractive sight. 

The family felt that to have Bo-peep looking any other 
than her dear self was a catastrophe too great to be borne and 
they sent in haste for Bo-peep’s godmother. 

When she came they told her all the sad story and she 
listened with a twinkle in her eye. 

Then she said: 

“Leave them alone and they’ll come home 
Bringing their tails behind them.” 

Bo-peep was comforted and when a little later Godmother 

[ 27 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


brought them back from their search for the lost tails Bo-peep 
could hardly contain herself. 

For Godmother had taken their tails to her own green yard 
and there in the fairy sunlight had bleached them and brushed 
them until they shone like soft clouds. 

She had met Woolly Sheep when they started on their 
loving search and took them to her own green yard and gave 
them their tails. Then she painted them with a specially 
magical brush and they really looked like new sheep when 
they got home. 

But though the family all rejoiced, Bo-peep sat silent and 
she did not sleep a wink that night. 

Next morning her mother and godmother dressed her in 
a dress as yellow as sunbeams and put on her feet the glass 
slippers that all fairies wear in the presence of the Fairy 
Queen. 

With one Woolly Sheep on either side, Bo-peep curtsied 
low before her Queen. She was so dear and Woolly Sheep 
looked at her so lovingly that Fairy Queen spoke the words 
that made Bo-peep a Maid-in-Waiting. 

But Bo-peep, instead of smiling and kissing the Fairy 
Queen’s hand, hid her head and a tear ran down her cheek, 

66 What is it, my dear?” the Fairy Queen asked kindly. 
“Don’t you want to be a Maid-in-Waiting?” 

“I want to, oh, I do want to,” cried Bo-peep. “But I 
don’t deserve to be. Woolly Sheep look like soft white clouds 
because my dear godmother made them so. I let them get 
spotty and lose their tails because I liked to play too well. I 
am so sorry because I do so want to be a Maid-in-Waiting.” 

Then the Fairy Queen stooped and put her arms about 
dear little Bo-peep and kissed her. 

“You shall be my very highest Maid-in-Waiting,” she said. 

[ 28 ] 


LITTLE BO-PEEP 


“I know that no harm can ever come near me with brave 
Bo-peep in my train.” 

And all the Fairy court looked lovingly at Bo-peep with 
tears in their eyes. 

And Bo-peep’s mother and godmother and all the family 
were too proud and happy for words. 



[29] 



GOOSEY GOOSEY GANDER 


Goosey, Goosey , Gander 
Whither dost thou wander? 
Upstairs and downstairs 
And in my lady’s chamber . 



T is generally believed that no goose has any 
sense. So a story about a wise goose ought to 
be lots of fun, don’t you think? Story Gnome 
sang the words of the old rhyme at me one 
night as he appeared suddenly in the firelight. 
Then while I thought them over, wondering 
about the story, he magicked the little red chair in from the 
play room and curled himself up in it. 

“Yes,” he said. “This is the story of a wise goose.” 

“A wise goose may be a possibility in Fairyland, but all 
the geese I have seen on Earth have been very stupid,” I 
argued. 

“Exactly!” quoth Story Gnome. “That is what makes 
this story as fascinating as the others I’ve been releasing from 
the magic books.” 

And so, once upon a time there was a Princess in Fairyland 
who was very unhappy. She was not a very important princess, 
for the really important ones are too busy to be unhappy. 
In fact, this particular Princess was quite lazy and spent a 
great many hours just polishing her pretty fingernails, though 
her maid did it each morning until they shone. 

[ 30 ] 


















MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Princess Loribell was of course very pretty, being just six¬ 
teen. But into her face were stealing little lines of crossness 
and laziness and bad temper. There really seemed to be 
danger that she might be banished to Magicland, for the Fairies 
will not abide an ugly Princess. 

Loribell’s mother was very worried about her daughter. 
And one day while walking in the Barnyard looking at her 
ducklings and goslings and baby calves she found herself 
thinking aloud. 

“What shall I do about Loribell? I spoiled her so when 
she was little that now she doesn’t want to do anything for 
herself. If she looks any older or has any more lines in her 
face when the Queen visits me next month I am afraid Loribell 
may be sent to Magicland. What shall I do?” 

There was a large green frog sitting on the edge of the 
duck-pond listening to Loribell’s mother. His name was 
Wugg. 

“See Willowitch. See Willowitch,” he croaked. 

Loribell’s mother looked around astonished. 

“Who is speaking?” she asked. 

But with a final croak, “See Willowitch,” Wugg plunged 
into the duck pond, and that is the end of him in this story. 

But his words remained in Loribell’s mother’s mind. She 
thought of the idea a great deal the next day, for Loribell had 
a bad fit of temper and would not go out to dust the roses after 
breakfast, and her mother was sure she could see tiny lines 
creeping around Loribell’s discontented eyes. 

So right after lunch she posted off to see Willowitch. 

“You have a lazy daughter,” screamed Willowitch as Lori- 
bell’s mother came near her house. Willowitch is really very 
kind hearted but she likes people to be afraid of her if pos¬ 
sible and she is very ugly and has a horrible voice. 

[ 32 ] 


GOOSEY GOOSEY GANDER 


Poor mother. She wanted to defend Loribell. But she 
could not. No one ever dares tell Willowitch a lie. 

"Put her to work.” And Willowitch turned back to her 
Cauldron in which she was stewing up the five-minute spells 
that all fairy children are given when they are born. 

“But how—what—” Loribell’s mother held out her hands 
to Willowitch. Wasn’t that just what she herself had wanted 
Loribell to do? Fairies are very busy people you know if they 
are to stay in Fairyland. 

“Take away her maid,” Willowitch gave the Cauldron a 
vigorous stir. 

“Take away her Silken Gown,” another stir. 

“Put her in the Barnyard 

“To make a Bed of Down.” Willowitch lifted the spells 
and dropped them back into the boiling pot. Then she added 
in a whisper, “The Queen will be here a week earlier than 
usual,” and vanished. This was her convenient way of ending 
a tiresome conversation. 

Loribell’s mother thought deeply all the way home. She 
knew Willowitch was wise. But how could she carry out the 
advice, put Loribell to work. “Take away her maid,” and 
the rest of the rhyme kept running through her head. 

When she went into the garden there sat Loribell just 
watching while a great Green Worm ate a hole in a lovely Tea 
Rose. Then Loribell’s mother was angry. 

“Shame on you, lazy daughter,” she cried. “To let one 
of my lovely roses be eaten and the Queen coming to see my 
Garden next month too. How can you?” and with one sweep 
of her hand she magicked the Green Worm into Limbo, and 
magicked her daughter into her room. 

When dinner time came Loribell rang for her maid. She 
wished to change her Rose Petal Dress for one of Buttercups. 
[ 33 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Her mother loved her so in the Buttercup Dress that Loribell 
felt sure of forgiveness for the afternoon’s fault. But though 
she rang and rang no maid came. 

Deciding that she would have to get another maid she went 
to her great Clothes Press to take down the Buttercup Dress 
herself. When she opened it, it was empty save for one lean, 
lank Gown of Dull Purple, a most unbecoming color. 

Then the ugly Purple Dress did a surprising thing. Its 
sleeves reached out and caught hold of Loribell. In a moment 
she was clothed in the hideous thing, her Rose Petal Dress 
seeming to vanish in the air. 

Poor Loribell. And a suitor at dinner too. And two of 
her cousins. 

She heard her mother’s voice. “Run right in, Loribell 
will love to see you a minute before dinner.” 

Loribell wished to die of shame, but into the room ran 
the cousins and stopped short in surprise at the sight of the 
fastidious Loribell wearing the ugliest dress they had ever 
seen. However, they were too polite to say anything and 
Loribell, holding her head high, went down with them to 
dinner. 

At dinner the talk turned on the coming of the Fairy Queen 
to this province. 

“Loribell is going to pluck Geese to make a Bed of Down 
for the Queen to sleep on when she is here,” quoth Loribell’s 
mother. 

The guests gave a start of surprise, for they knew not only 
how lazy Loribell had always been, but also what a terrific 
task plucking a Down Bed would be. 

Loribell was too proud to contradict her mother. 

“I am quite set on doing it,” she said, holding her head 
a little higher. 


[ 34 ] 


GOOSEY GOOSEY GANDER 


I rather enjoy thinking of the surprise Loribell’s mother 
must have felt. And probably she felt even then a little 
proud that her daughter could behave in such a royal 
manner. 

But it was a sulky Fairy Princess that went out to the 
Barnyard in the morning. 

With her mother at her elbow she spoke the invitation to 
the Geese. It was a great honor to be plucked to make a bed 
for the Fairy Queen and all the Geese crowded about offering 
their soft bosoms to Loribell’s fingers. 

All save one. He was a young Gander, thin and scrawny 
and ugly. He stood at the edge of the flock looking wistfully 
at the fine Fluffy Geese who stood close to their Princess. 
But though the young Gander was thin and scrawny, he had 
an understanding heart. All the Geese were proud and happy 
and they believed that the Princess was proud and happy too. 
Only Goosey Goosey Gander saw the Black Cloud in her Heart 
and knew that she was angry and disgusted. 

All that day he watched while Loribell put the Tiny 
Feathers in Silken Bags that later were to be emptied into 
the Royal Mattress. When Twilight fell and Loribell rose 
wearily to her feet he passed close to her. 

“Well plucked, Princess Loribell,” he hissed softly. 

Loribell looked down at him and smiled in spite of her 
weariness. He was such a scrawny bird. But that smile drove 
from her face some weary lines and though her mother looked 
sternly at her as she entered the palace, the harsh glance 
seemed to hurt very little. 

Each day the scrawny Goose watched Loribell and each 
night he spoke some word of encouragement. Loribell needed 
it. All day long she sat plucking Feathers from the breasts 
of wiggling, good-natured Geese. Sometimes she wished 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


they would resist, would do anything but grin their silly grin 
at her. But always she plucked on and on. 

One morning Goosey Gander sidled up to Loribell. 

“Gray Goose has seven little goslings this morning,” he 
whispered. 

Loribell paid little attention to him until later when Gray 
Goose waddled proudly up to be plucked. Then she heard 
herself speaking. 

“I heard you have seven children this morning,” she said. 

Gray Goose nearly burst for joy. She filled Loribell’s 
ears with the tale of her wonderful flock and later in the day 
led the downy balls up for the Princess to fondle. Now each 
morning Goosey Gander told Loribell something about the 
flock and each night spoke his soft “well done.” 

Daily Loribell looked happier, more interested in life. 
The little tired unhappy lines disappeared and even in the 
Purple Gown Loribell was lovely. 

Then with no word of warning the Fairy Queen arrived. 

Loribell was plucking Geese when the great Drawbridge 
in front of the Palace clanged down and the Heralds sounded 
their Trumpets. 

Loribell’s mother led the Fairy Queen to the Barnyard, 
where the Queen took the girl in her arms and kissed her. 

“It is a task of love and fealty indeed that you do,” said 
the Queen. “You have been very brave to stay at this hard 
task.” 

“I have not been brave,” said Loribell. “I hated this task 
and only kept at it because Goosey Gander here showed me 
how interesting these Geese are in spite of their silly looks 
and because each night he cheered me when no one else spoke 
a kind word to me.” 

“You are brave to tell me this,” said the Queen, who had 

[ 36 ] 


GOOSEY GOOSEY GANDER 


heard the whole story from Willowitch. “I will give you no 
reward, for you have it in your lovely face and sparkling eyes 
which you were in danger of losing. But to Goosey Gander 
who helped you to be faithful I give the freedom of this house 
and of my castle forever. He may wander upstairs and down¬ 
stairs and in my lady’s chamber at his pleasure.” 

Goosey Gander looked down at his red, rawboned breast. 
No fit person he for wandering in palaces. And lo, he was 
covered with softest, whitest down, glistening and gleaming 
in the Magic Light that fell about the Fairy Queen’s person. 



[ 37 ] 



MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY 


“Mary, Mary , quite contrary 
How does your garden grow?” 

“With silver bells and cockle shells 
And pretty maids all in a row” 

HERE are two quotations in that rhyme. Can 
you find the quotation marks? They are 
not in your Mother Goose books, but Story 
Gnome says that is because Mother Goose 
had no time to explain the story when she 
sang the rhyme to the children who lived 
in the shoe in the far-away time. She just 
sang it and they sang it to their children when they grew up, 
and this is the very first time that Mary Quite Contrary’s story 
has ever come out of the magic books. Then, too, in this 
story you will meet the Flighty Godmother, that careless per¬ 
son who is probably responsible for your forgetting to say 
6 Thank you” sometimes. It makes her very happy for you to 
remember without her putting the words into your mouth 
every time. And now for the story. 

Mary was a darling girl, but I am sorry to tell you that 
she did not have a very happy home. You see when she was 
a tiny baby she had a really dreadful accident happen to her. 
Her Flighty Godmother mislaid her and Evileye carried her 
off to his own gloomy cottage in Magicland. 

It happened this way. Mary’s parents were dreadfully 
busy parents and the morning she was to be christened they 
[ 38 ] 





3 - The jokj:x on me 

^ <fAH> E VILEVE AND 
-HE tfMILED A WAN 
GH°«IT °F A JMIEE 























MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


both had to be on Earth until just time for the christening. 
So they asked the Flighty Godmother to bring Mary to the 
Palace where all the fairy babies are christened. Flighty 
Godmother, who was always trying to do three things at once, 
flew to Mary’s house and put Mary in her pocket. Fairy babies 
are very tiny and very good. Then when Flighty Godmother 
was dressing for the ceremony she emptied her pocket and 
laid Mary down on a Cobweb Handkerchief. You know how 
easy it is to forget your handkerchief, and Flighty Godmother 
flew off to the Palace leaving Mary and the Cobweb Handker¬ 
chief lying on a chair by her dressing table. 

Evileye was passing along chasing Smiles when Flighty 
Godmother left the house, so he popped in to see if she had 
left any Smiles lying around. Then he saw Mary. Here was 
a happy thing he could get and keep for his very own. 

So he laid her gently in a Milk Weed Pod Cradle, gave 
the cradle a little puff and floated it over into Magicland. 

Now Evileye is really not a bad fellow. He is grumpy and 
hates laughter and fun. Magicland is all twilight and Baby 
Mary grew up to be quite a pale little girl in spite of the 
attentions of the Flighty Fairy Godmother who felt most dread¬ 
fully bad when Mary was lost. I must explain that the fairies 
have very little power in Magicland if the person they wish 
to influence has been there more than an hour. Mary had 
been there nearly a day before the frantic Godmother dis¬ 
covered her. Fairy parents, when they are as busy helping 
Earth folk as Mary’s father and mother were, leave the bring¬ 
ing up of their children largely to the Godmothers. So 
although they came to see Mary from time to time, it was 
the Flighty Godmother who was most concerned about Mary’s 
welfare. 

Evileye sent Mary to school and gave her three excellent 

[ 40 ] 


MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY 

meals every day of Oxblood Soup and Sweetpea Sandwiches. 
But he never permitted her to smile. And if she had ever told 
him a joke he would have punished her most severely I am 
sure. 

But Flighty Godmother went often to see little Mary and 
while Evileye was busy chasing Smiles away from those who 
wanted to use them she showed Mary how to wear a Smile on 
her Rosebud Mouth and warned her never to let Evileye know 
she could do it. 

Mary grew so pretty that Flighty Godmother decided she 
simply must come to Fairyland to live. So she put her pride 
in her pocket and went to talk to Willowitch. 

Willowitch is very ugly, but she is quite obliging and 
makes only harmless spells. 

“How can I get my little God-daughter out of Magicland, 
Willowitch?” asked the Flighty Fairy Godmother looking 
very pretty and giving Willowitch a little yellow bag lined 
with opal. In the bag were two spots from a butterfly’s wings 
that Flighty Godmother had brought to help Willowitch with 
her spells. 

“If she can make Evileye smile he will have no more power 
over her,” said Willowitch, examining the contents of the 
yellow bag. She was quite pleased so she added, “He hates 
pretty things, life, color, sweet sounds, you know. And he 
is very obstinate. Only a girl more obstinate than he will 
ever get away from his power.” 

Flighty Godmother left thinking very deeply. 

Several days later she called on Mary and took with her 
several little packages of seeds. 

“You are looking pale, my dear,” she said to Mary. 
“Exercise in the open air will do you good. You must make 
a Garden.” 


[ 41 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“I’d love to,” said Mary. “But will Evileye let me?” 

“Well, we’ll see,” said Godmother. “Let’s start now be¬ 
fore he comes home.” 

So they went out behind the house and began to dig. 
Just then Evileye came in. He had just put in a very hard 
day. People on Earth and in Fairyland were very cheerful 
and he had hardly been able to catch a Smile all day long. 

“What’s this?” he asked suspiciously looking at the newly 
turned earth. 

“It’s going to be a Garden,” said Godmother, being very 
careful not to smile, for she did not wish to irritate Evileye. 

“Why do you want to have a Garden here?” asked Evileye 
crossly. 

“Mary needs the exercise,” said Godmother. “She is look¬ 
ing pale.” 

“I like her pale,” said Evileye grumpily. “I don’t want 
her to have a Garden.” 

Now I must explain that while Mary longed to go to 
Fairyland she was really fond of Evileye who had always been 
kind to her. Evileye in his way loved her and couldn’t help 
his cross nature which hated Smiles. They got along quite 
well and Mary had always been obedient until now. God¬ 
mother had told her so much about the joys of a Garden that 
she truly longed for one. 

The next morning she found that Evileye had smoothed 
over the spot where the seeds had been the night before. 
While he was out joy-killing, Mary carefully picked up the 
little seeds and gave them a new bed. 

Meantime Godmother had been training a Smile. It was 
a dear little Smile and she taught it to float in the air quite 
close to a person and then give a little skip and just barely 
keep itself from getting smiled. When Evileye started out 
[ 42 ] 


MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY 

that day Godmother sent this Smile to tease him and he chased 
it all day, never getting quite close enough to clap it in his 
little black bag. 

When he got home that night and saw that Mary had put 
the seeds in new beds he was very cross, as tired people always 
are. 

“Contrary child,” he scolded. “Why do you want a Gar¬ 
den? That Godmother of yours is always setting you cross¬ 
wise. First thing I know she’ll teach you to smile.” And he 
went out and turned the earth in Mary’s Garden all topsy turvy. 

Next morning when Evileye started out he saw that same 
elusive little Smile on his front porch. He started after it and 
though he chased the livelong day he never so much as touched 
it. It was the most exasperating smile he had ever chased. 

While he was gone Mary took three seeds, each different 
from the other and put them in beds alone. She patted the 
earth down nicely and tried to make it look as though there 
were no seeds in the ground at all. 

When Evileye came home that night he felt terribly cross 
and sarcastic. 

“Well, Contrary Mary, how’s your beautiful Garden?” 
he asked. 

“Doing nicely thank you, Evileye,” said Mary, for she was 
a truthful child. 

Evileye looked all around and not seeing any new beds 
felt satisfied. He thought Mary was teasing and that suited 
him, for it seemed at last that perhaps she would act like his 
daughter and lose even a suspicion of cheerfulness. 

All that spring Evileye chased the charmed Smile. God¬ 
mother taught it to keep him out until quite late at night so 
that he could not see how Mary’s plants were thriving. 

The Elusive Smile made him very cross but each night he 

[ 43 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


cheered himself by saying, “Well, Contrary Mary, how’s your 
beautiful Garden?” 

And Mary would answer, “Doing nicely, thank you, Evil- 
eye.” 

Evileye thought she was trying to annoy him and felt 
more and more pleased with her. 

At last one afternoon Evileye caught the Elusive Smile. 
He popped it into his little black bag and started home. He 
had earned a rest and an early tea. Such a Charming Smile 
had no right to be loose upon the Earth and now there was 
no chance of its ever getting itself smiled. 

Evileye hurried home and turned in at his gate. Mary 
sat on the front porch thinking with satisfaction of the three 
plants that grew in her three-cornered back yard. 

“Well, Mary, Mary, quite contrary, 

How does your Garden grow?” said Evileye. 

“With silver bells and cockle shells and pretty maids all 
in a row,” answered Mary. “Come, let me show you,” and 
she led the way to the three-cornered back yard. 

“What?” gasped Evileye. “What’s this? How does it 
happen that you have this Garden, and such a queer one at 
that?” 

“You asked me about it every evening,” said Mary 
demurely. 

“So I did, so I did,” said Evileye, shaking his head. “And 
what a queer Garden.” 

The pretty maid smiled, the silver bells tinkled and the 
cockle shells twinkled in the sunshine. 

“And I thought she was fooling,” said Evileye. “The 
joke’s on me,” and in spite of himself he smiled a wan ghost 
of a smile. 

That moment the Fairy Godmother laid her hand on 
Mary’s shoulder. 

[ 44 ] 


MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY 


“You have lost your power over her,” she cried. “Now 
Mary can come with me to Fairyland.” 

Mary jumped for joy. Then she looked at Evileye’s down¬ 
cast face. He was actually crying. 

“Dear Evileye,” cried Mary. “I am sorry to leave you. I 
almost wish I hadn’t been so obstinate about that Garden and 
made it grow all Summer.” 

Something happened to Evileye’s heart just then. 

“Go, my dear, it is where you belong,” he said. “And 
before you go let me give you a gift.” 

From his bag he took the Elusive and Lovely Little Smile 
he had chased all summer and presented it to Mary. 

Godmother waved her wand and, wearing the Loveliest 
Smile in all the World and a dress of Rainbow Mist, Mary 
floated off to Fairyland. 



[ 45 ] 


GEORGY PORGY 


Georgy Porgy 
Pudding-y pie. 

Kissed the girls and made them cry. 
When the hoys came out to play 
Georgy Porgy ran away. 



1 OU probably think of Georgy Porgy as a fat, 
greedy little boy with unpleasant manners, and 
so did I until the Story Gnome told me about 
him. His story made me both glad and sorry, 
glad that Georgy Porgy’s wish came true, and 
sorry that all of us so often misunderstand 
about the outsides of people, like Willowitch, who is good at 
heart, but ugly and gruff to meet. First of all, before we get 
to the real story I must ask you to notice that word “pud¬ 
ding-y.” In most of your Mother Goose books you will find 
the rhyme reading, “pudding and pie.” But if you were to 
look in an old, old book such as they printed in England by 
hand many years ago, you would find it written as I have written 
it above. So it is written in the great tomes that Story Gnome 
reads in the silent library of the Fairy Queen. 

And this is the story. 

There was once a fairy family named Porgy. And they 
were particularly interested in appetites. When the good 
Earth Children over whom they watched got sick, the Porgy 
family took their ailing appetites off to Fairyland and kept them 
there until the Earth children were well again and ready to 
[ 46 ] 











































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


eat. Quite often, for Mother and Father Porgy took excellent 
care of those pale little appetites, they were bigger and stronger 
than ever, so that the sick boys and girls on Earth could get 
well and strong quickly. 

For a long time Father and Mother Porgy had no children. 
They longed for a child, for both Father and Mother Porgy 
were famous cooks and had invented honey-pie, and pop-corn 
cake, and could prepare dishes that looked and tasted just 
like those you can see in pictures in Mother’s nicest cook book 
or in the magazines. 

But at last a little baby boy fairy came to live with them 
and you can imagine how happy they were and how much 
time Mother Porgy spent thinking of delicious things to cook 
for Georgy, for that was their baby’s name, as you know from 
the rhyme. Father Porgy was a jolly fat fellow who loved to 
laugh and joke. He often amused the Fairy King with his 
jests and quips and he wanted his son Georgy to grow up to 
be the same fat, jolly kind of fairy. 

But somehow Georgy wasn’t that kind of fairy child at 
all. He liked to be by himself much of the time, and he was 
forever drawing pictures. He especially loved to draw pictures 
of the girl fairies he played with, showing them as they danced 
lightly and gracefully in the meadows, or cared for their woolly 
lambs, or ran to meet their dear Godmothers. 

Father and Mother Porgy paid little attention to Georgy’s 
pictures and Father Porgy often scolded his son for not playing 
ball with the boy fairies or going off to catch goldfish with 
them. “They’ll think you’re a little sissy if you stay around 
the house all the time, or just play with the girls,” he roared 
one day, and then went off to the court, shaking his head sadly 
at this gentle son he had in place of the rollicking boy he had 
hoped for. 


[ 48 ] 


GEORGY PORGY 


Mother Porgy felt much like Father Porgy did, and she 
decided to go to consult Willowitch about Georgy. You see 
when people are so tremendously interested in appetites as 
Father and Mother Porgy were, it is hard to have time to 
appreciate pictures like those that Georgy could draw. So off 
went Mother Porgy to Willowitch. 

First she made an Epicurean dish of honey-pie with 
whipped cream over the top and placed it on a golden platter. 
Then she took it in her hand and went and knocked on the 
door of Willowitch’s hut. 

The door flew open. The honey-pie flew into the door¬ 
way. The door flew shut and Willowitch spoke with her mouth 
full of pie. 

“Give him a pudding-y pie.” 

Now Georgy was just half past ten and Mother Porgy 
thought he was old enough to have some pie now and then, 
but she hadn’t made him many pies and she wondered if this 
were some special kind she had forgotten. 

All the way home she wondered about it and kept repeat¬ 
ing to herself, “A pudding-y pie. What in Fairyland can that 
be?” 

When she got home she took down all the fairy cook books 
she had and searched and searched, but nothing could she 
find. Father Porgy coming home for dinner found her think¬ 
ing deeply, the dinner all neglected. However, he wasn’t 
cross, being a very fine cook himself and quite used to getting 
the meals when Mother Porgy was busy with the appetites 
of sick Earth children. He just went ahead and got a lovely 
dinner ready while Mother Porgy told him about her visit to 
Willowitch. 

When she had finished he gave a great hearty laugh. 
“Why that’s easy,” he said. “Just make a pudding and put 
[ 49 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


it in a pie crust. What good it will do the child I don’t 
know, but if Willowitch said to try it, go ahead and see what 
happens.” 

Mother Porgy was still doubtful, it seemed such a silly 
thing to do. But she began to think of all the puddings she 
could make and finally said: 

‘‘Georgy’s favorite pudding is baked custard. Now if I 
put a custard pudding mixture in a pie-crust and baked them 
both at the same time, I suppose I’d have a pudding-y pie. 
I can try it anyway.” 

So the next day she made a lovely custard with eggs from 
the Little Red Hen and creamy milk from Boy Blue’s Friendly 
Cow. She poured it into a pie-crust and into the oven it went. 
When it came out it looked so good and smelled so good that 
Mother Porgy almost tasted it herself. But she remembered 
that it was a magic pie and thought she had better not. 

Georgy came in from his morning’s play. He was a pale, 
tall boy with blue eyes, keen and bright, and soft, fair hair. 
He went directly to the table and, taking a pencil and paper, 
began to draw. Under his fingers grew a lovely girl fairy, 
winsome and sweet and full of grace. 

“Isn’t Ladylocks beautiful, Mother?” he asked, showing 
her the picture when he had finished. 

“Yes, Georgy, but I wish you wouldn’t play so much with 
the girls. You know how cross it makes your father,” she 
said. “See what a delicious pie I have baked for you this 
morning.” 

“Thank you, Mother,” said Georgy, beginning to eat it, 
for fairy meals are quite different from ours, you know, and 
often begin and end with dessert. 

As soon as he had eaten a large slice of pie Georgy ran out 
to show Ladylocks the drawing. She told him she thought it 
[ 50 ] 


GEORGY PORGY 

beautiful and he was so glad for some kind words about it that 
he kissed her cheek. 

But he had forgotten to wash his face after eating the 
pie and he left a sticky mark on Ladylocks’ face that made 
her stamp her foot and tell him she thought he was hateful. 
She ran into the house to wash her face and Georgy, who was 
pretty much of a boy after all, began kissing the girls right 
and left and making all their faces sticky. They cried and 
ran in the house, leaving Georgy alone. Presently the boy 
fairies began gathering for their afternoon game of ball, and 
Georgy, who didn’t like ball, went into the house. 

It just happened that Father Porgy had been watching and 
he thought Georgy was running away from the boys, though 
he had chuckled when he saw Georgy teasing the girls with 
his sticky kisses. He decided to take things into his own 
hands. 

“Off to the King you go,” he roared, catching his son 
by the back of his neck and rushing him through the air to 
the palace. 

The Fairy King, who loved all children, sent Georgy’s 
father from the throne room and talked very gently to Georgy. 

“It isn’t that I dislike the boys especially,” said Georgy 
through his tears. “But the girls are so much prettier to 
draw. See.” And he held out to the Fairy King the sketch 
of Ladylocks which he still held in one hand. 

The Fairy King looked at it. “Why this is beautiful!” 
he cried. Then he called the Fairy Queen, who is quite the 
most beautiful person in all the world. Georgy Porgy opened 
his eyes wide and drank in her loveliness. The Fairy King 
guessed what was in his mind. 

“Would you like to make me a picture of the Fairy 
Queen?” he asked. 


[ 51 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“Oh, if I only could-” gasped Georgy Porgy. 

“If you will play with the boys every afternoon to please 
your father, you may come here to the palace to paint pictures 
for us every morning,” said the Fairy King. 

Georgy Porgy promised gladly, and though he never got 
very fat, he did grow stronger and in time his father grew 
extremely proud of his son. For when he was a big fairy he 
made all the beautiful portraits of Mignonette, Hickory 
Dickory Dock’s daughter, of Loribell and Goosey Gander, of 
Mary Mary Quite Contrary, and of the Fairy Queen herself. 
These and many more hang on the walls of the Fairy Queen’s 
library where Story Gnome can see them and tell us about 
them. 

As for the pudding-y pie. You have guessed of course 
that it was the first custard pie. Father and Mother Porgy 
tasted it themselves and Mother Porgy whispered the recipe 
to an Earth mother who told it to many other mothers, this 
way: 

Custard in cups from one to ten. 

Custard in pie crust, for little men. 

-and girls too. 



[ 52 ] 




TOM, THE PIPER’S SON 


Tom , he was a piper’s son 
He learned to play when he was young 
But all the tune that he could play 
Was , “Over the hills and far away.” 

Over the hills and a great way off 
The wind shall blow my top-knot off. 

AM not a musical soul,” announced the Story 
Gnome as he flitted into my room one sunny 
morning when I was wishing for a story to write 
for you. “Indeed I am not. Nor, as you can 
see by my figure, which is a very good one for 
a gnome, am I a graceful dancer. But many’s 
the measure I’ve tripped to the playing of Tom, the Piper’s 
Son. No one ever played like he could play—nor wrote 
such sweet songs as his, that I have been reading this night 
long in the library of the Fairy Queen.” 

This sounded very much like the answer to my wish for 
a story to write for you, so I made Story Gnome welcome and 
put on my most attentive look. Besides, I have grown very 
fond of the little fellow, as I hope you have by this time. 

Tom was the only child of musical parents, Story Gnome 
told me when he had crossed his legs and made himself com¬ 
fortable in a little red chair from the play-room in my house. 
Both Tom’s father and mother could play sweetly on the lute 
and often appeared in festivals for the Fairy Queen and her 
court. Their one wish for their son was that he be musical. 

[ 53 ] 









MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


So when he came to live with them, a wee fairy baby with a 
puckish face, they sang to him by the hour, played tunes on 
the lute, and invited Tommy Tucker to come to sing him all 
the songs of Fairyland. 

By the time Tom was four years old he could play cun¬ 
ningly on a tiny pipe his Godmother had given him and coax 
even the oldest, stiffest fairy to dance to his piping. As he 
grew older his appearance in the fields and meadows of Fairy¬ 
land was a signal for all the fairy children in the neighbor¬ 
hood to come out to dance. 

It was to his piping that Ladylocks danced the day Georgy 
Porgy drew her picture and took it to the Fairy King. 

Evileye often passed the merry group that danced so 
featly about Tom and his pipe and looked enviously at the 
bright smiles on the faces of the fairy children, smiles he 
could not chase away and pop into his little black bag, though 
he tried with all his might and main. 

“If just once I could chase away the smiles in that crowd 
and put them all in here,” he whispered to himself, shaking 
his little black bag, “I could go home to an early tea and rest 
for a week.” And although he knew the power of Tom’s 
music, he often lingered near the dancers in the hope of 
catching a stray smile or two. 

At last he began to plot a way to spoil the fun. 

One day he came to the door of Tom’s house and knocked, 
very early in the morning. 

Tom’s mother came to the door and recognized Evileye 
in great surprise. “What do you want?” she asked. 

“Do you suppose,” said Evileye humbly, “do you sup¬ 
pose that Tom would come out and play for me? I have 
such a headache.” And he looked most lugubrious — a lovely 
word for you to remember. 

[ 54 ] 




















































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Tom’s mother was so proud of her son that she smiled 
at Evileye, who winced at this attention, and turned to call 
Tom. 

Tom came gaily out with his pipe and, leaning lazily 
against the trunk of a slender tree, began to play all the tunes 
he had learned from the time he was a baby up until the day 
before yesterday. For he was resolved to make this grumpy 
little fellow happy if music had power to do it. 

Tune after tune, jubilant note and lilting air poured forth 
into the morning sunshine, and all the fairy children danced 
about their tasks, for it was yet too early for them to appear 
on the green. 

Tom was so absorbed by his playing that he did not notice 
that after every tune Evileye opened a bag of purple silk that 
he carried this morning in place of his usual black one, and 
popped into it the very tune that Tom had just finished. 

At last Tom reached the end of his repertoire—another 
nice word for you to ask Mother about. He grinned at Evil- 
eye and said: 

“And that’s all for this morning, Evileye — but wait. 
Here is a tune ’specially for you because you have not smiled 
once during my playing. It is called ‘Over the Hills and Far 
Away.’ ” 

Then Tom played a merry little tune with a sort of sob 
in behind it, a tune that made all the fairy children want to 
leave their tasks and go to far-off lands. 

“I’ll let you keep that one,” said Evileye when Tom had 
finished. “It will keep all the mothers from smiling for 
a long time. Here are the others,” and before Tom could 
wink Evileye clasped the purple bag on top of the boy’s head 
and wished it fast there with a charm from Magicland. 

“Now play!” said His Grumpiness, Evileye. 

[ 56 ] 


TOM, THE PIPER’S SON 


Tom put his lips to his pipe, but no merry tune danced 
into his head and out of the pipe. Time and again he tried, 
but each time there was no answering melody, until at last, 
with a mighty effort, there came again the notes of “Over 
the Hills and Far Away.” 

At this sound Evileye vanished from sight and went home 
well satisfied with his morning’s work. Out came the chil¬ 
dren, ready to dance. But no dance music could Tom play, 
nor could he answer their questions about that queer purple 
bag tied on his head. When one of them tried to snatch it 
off Tom cried out, “You are hurting me,” and at last the 
children trooped sadly into their homes to tell their fathers 
and mothers of the strange happening. 

About this time Tom’s father and mother, who had been 
busy in Earthland carrying new tunes to musicians there, 
came home. Tom told them all the morning’s occurrences 
and, at the end of his story, played them the mournful little 
tune that was now all the tune that he could play. 

They wept to hear it, and when Tom would have 
stepped sadly out of the house to its rhythm, they stopped 
him, for they feared that he would indeed go far away over 
the green hills to Magicland, there to ask Evileye to restore 
the lovely melodies he had stolen. 

Day after day Tom sat in his fairy cottage playing his 
one remaining tune. Day after day the fairy children mourned 
his absence. And day after day Tom’s father and mother 
tried to think of some way to help their son. 

They sang to him, but not one song could he remember 
long enough to play it on his pipe. And whenever his desire 
to leave the house and wander afar grew too strong, they put 
his pipe sadly away and turned his mind to other things. 

At last Tom’s father said, “I will go to Willowitch. She 

[ 57 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


is ugly, but she is wise. She is old, but she is kind at heart, 
though gruff in manner. Perhaps she will help us.” 

So he wrapped up some sweet little tunes that Willowitch 
could use in making lovely magic words for the grown-up 
fairies and went away to her cottage under the hill. There 
he sang a little song to her: 

“Willowitch, oh Willowitch, 

Help me now I pray. 

Give me back the lovely songs 
My son was wont to play.” 

Then he wished the sweet little tunes all wrapped in silver 
paper into the heart of Willowitch and presently he heard 
her say in a high sing-song: 

“Follow the song, 

Follow the song, 

The one that he’s playing 
All the day long.” 

There was silence, and though Tom’s father waited a 
long time he heard nothing further from this ugly old lady 
whom many persons suspected of being the kindest old woman 
in Fairyland. 

At last he went home and told his wife and she saw the 
meaning of Willowitch’s words instantly. But she was fear¬ 
ful of this advice and let her husband puzzle his brain for 
a week and a day before she told him what she thought. 

He listened and shook his head, for he agreed with his 
wife that, if they followed Willowitch’s advice, they might 
never see their son again. But at last one day when Tom sat 
[ 58 ] 


TOM, THE PIPER’S SON 


silently at home, looking wistfully from his pipe which lay on 
a shelf to the green of the meadow outside, they opened the 
door and gave him his pipe. 

He put it to his lips and began to play, softly, slowly, 
“Over the Hills and Far Away.” Slowly he rose to his feet 
and just as slowly he went out of the doorway into the sun¬ 
shine. 

The fairy mothers heard his playing and clasped their 
children to their hearts lest they follow Tom. I think this 
must have been the same music the Pied Piper played many 
hundreds of years later to the children of Hamelin town. 

Over the roads of Fairyland went Tom. And as he went 
his playing grew louder, his step grew lighter, and his feet 
moved faster over the meadows. He reached the hills and 
the lambs danced to his music. They frisked in the warm 
wind and Tom felt his heart grow light within him, though 
he had forgotten his home. 

Higher and higher rose the wind. Faster and faster Tom 
played. Now he leaped and bounded into the air, skipped 
from stone to stone, threw his pipe up and caught it again, 
pouring out the notes of his one song, “Over the Hills and 
Far Away.” 

Suddenly, with a swirl and a puff the wind snatched at 
Tom, turned him about, blew his coat tails this way and that, 
then with a little pounce blew the purple top-knot from his 
head and scattered all the little tunes about the hills. 

Tom gave a cry of joy and began to gather them back 
into his pipe, into his heart. First he took the little young 
ones that he had known when he was a very small child. 
Then he played the middle-sized ones, and lastly the longest 
and hardest ones. And with every old tune that sprang from 
his lips he danced closer to his home. 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


The wind carried his music before him and when he came 
again to his home meadows there stood all the children, his 
father and mother, his friends and neighbors, waiting for him 
with gladness on their faces. 

How they danced! How they made merry! How happy 
they all were to have Tom and his pipe and all his old songs 
back again! 

As for Evileye, he was busy then chasing the smile that 
Contrary Mary’s Flighty Godmother had trained to torment 
him and he never bothered Tom any more. And if you dis¬ 
like Evileye too much you must remember that without him 
there would be no story. And that is a deep saying. 



[ 60 ] 



THE THREE SHIPS 


/ saw three ships come sailing by, sailing by, sailing by. 

/ saw three ships come sailing by, on New Year's Day in the 
morning. 

Three pretty girls were in them then, in them then, in them 
then. 

Three pretty girls were in them then, on New Years Day in 
the morning. 

One could whistle and one could sing, the other could play 
the violin. 

Such joy was there at my wedding, on New Year's Day in the 
morning. 


HE Story Gnome came into my study late one 
evening, singing these words to an old tune 
that you may find in a book of old nursery 
rhymes and learn to sing for yourself. I knew 
there was a story in the air and got my pencil 
and paper ready. The Story Gnome made a 
magic wish that the story might be fresh and 
bright for you and then he began. 

In Magicland, the country that lies between Earth and 
Fairyland, there once lived a King and Queen. They ruled 
over this difficult country wisely and well. It is a strange 
country where everything is half way. It is always twilight 
and things are half good, half evil. Evileye lives there. Wil- 
lowitch’s father came from there when Time was young and 

[ 61 ] 







MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


married a fairy, thus giving Willowitch her ugly face and wise 
heart. The King of Magicland must take great care lest his 
subjects become either too good or too bad. The people of 
Fairyland are rather distrustful of Magicland. Fairies who 
tarry there longer than an hour come under the spell of the 
King of Magicland and it is often very hard to get them 
released. 

It came to pass many thousands of years ago that a son 
was bom to the King and Queen of Magicland. As he would 
one day help his father rule and perhaps in some far-off time 
become the King of Magicland, he was named Rex. His 
father was very eager that he be neither too good nor too bad, 
and so you can see how, when he grew up, he was very much 
like an Earthland child, yourself for instance. 

He was tall and strong and good to look at, and very 
adventurous. One day he said to his father, “Oh King, which 
is also my father, I would visit Fairyland.” 

The King looked at him musingly. “Yes,” he answered, 
“it is time that you grew acquainted with that country over 
which we have some power at odd times. Let me prepare an 
escort for you, that you may present yourself at the court of 
the Fairy Queen as befits the son of a King.” 

“I will not go that way,” said the boy. “I will go alone, 
wearing my oldest clothes that I may search out the heart of 
this country.” 

The King of Magicland pondered this wish and finally 
consented. His wife, the Queen, was less willing, but when 
Rex had promised to bring her the secret of some bright new 
colors she had seen the fairies wearing on their way to errands 
in Earthland, she gave her consent and Rex made ready to 
leave. 

“I make but one condition,” said the King of Magicland. 

[ 62 ] 



1am I^EX, -A. J^EEPER. of THE mEEP?«E/AID«UM8iy: 






































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“Whenever you are in danger, in trouble, in need, or in want 
of any kind, three ships in the form of swans will appear by 
your side that your adversaries will know that you are a youth 
of power and promise.” 

And so Rex set off for Fairyland, attended by the three 
swanlike ships which vanished from his side when he had 
set foot among the green hills of Fairyland. 

For several days he wandered about, seeing no one. On 
the third day he came in sight of a lovely castle and drew near 
the courtyard. There he saw a fair young girl talking with a 
flock of geese. When she went into the castle there followed 
her a large and royal-looking gander, white as snow, with a 
breast that gleamed in the sunlight. 

Rex wondered at the strange sight and waited a day for 
another glimpse of the girl, who was the fairest he had ever 
seen. Again he saw her talking with the geese, speaking to 
the lambs, touching kindly the birds and beasts of the farm¬ 
yard about the castle. His last sight of her that day was as 
she tended her mother’s rose garden, bending her beautiful 
face over the roses and talking gaily to the great gander who 
stepped so regally after her. 

“Now this is a strange thing,” said Rex to himself. “I 
must learn more of it.” 

So he knocked at the great portal of the palace. An old, 
old woman answered the knock. At her side stepped the 
snow-white gander. They looked at Rex in silence. 

“Have you work for a willing lad about the farmyard?” 
asked Rex. 

“That we have,” answered the housekeeper. “You are 
tall and well built. You may tend and keep the flocks until 
the day after tomorrow, and then if you please us well, I will 
ask the Princess Loribell if you may remain.” 

[ 64 ] 


THE THREE SHIPS 


At that moment the White Gander craned his graceful 
neck forward. Close to Rex appeared the three swanlike ships. 
They were invisible to the housekeeper and she was too old 
to wonder why he said sharply over his shoulder, “Begone, 
I am in no danger!” 

“In danger only of losing your heart,” whispered the 
gander to himself. He went through the palace to the golden 
hallway where he slept, while Rex made his way to the kitchen. 

And that night as Loribell—for it was to her castle Rex 
had wandered—said good night to Goosey Gander he whis¬ 
pered softly to her, “I saw three ships come sailing by, sail¬ 
ing by, sailing by.” 

And though Loribell asked him what he meant, he said 
no further word but went to sleep on the golden roost outside 
her door. 

In the morning Loribell and Goosey Gander came into the 
farmyard to greet the birds and animals as was their custom. 
There, scattering the magic grain that fed the fairy beasts, was 
a handsome young fellow who made the princess a courtly 
bow. 

Now Loribell’s mother was absent from this month until 
New Year’s day on business for the Fairy Queen and Loribell 
was mistress of the house, so there was none to chide her for 
chatting overlong with the handsome feeder of the flocks. Nor 
did Goosey Gander seem to see any danger in these bright 
smiles the two exchanged. 

Loribell found herself thinking constantly of her new 
shepherd in the days that followed. His courtly response to 
her sweet smile and pleasant good morning was puzzling, but 
Loribell was long accustomed to finding beauty in ordinary 
things. And more puzzling than the shepherd boy’s manner 
was the strange habit Goosey Gander had developed of saying 
[ 65 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


softly to himself, “I saw three ships come sailing by, sailing 
by, sailing by.” Nor would he tell her what he meant. 

But though she was puzzled, and Goosey Gander was 
mysterious, and Rex was busy and happy, the King of Magic- 
land was very uneasy. The three swanlike ships had been 
absent for three whole days and he feared his son was in some 
grave danger. 

The fourth night the ships sailed to his window with a 
dream. And the dream that they brought him was this: His 
son Rex would take up his abode in Fairyland and never again 
visit his home for more than fifty-nine minutes at a time. The 
King awoke with a start. There, resting at his window were 
the three ships. 

“Bring my son to me instantly,” he commanded. 

In a moment they whisked away to Fairyland and brought 
Rex back. Rex awoke from a dream of Loribell to the sound 
of his father’s voice. 

“What danger are you in, my son?” asked the King. 

“I have lost my heart. Sire,” said Rex. “And I trust you 
will not detain me. If I tarry overlong I may not recover it.” 

“Is she pretty?” asked the Queen, who woke very easily 
and was quite excited. 

“She is lovely beyond words,” said Rex. “And her heart 
is of pure gold.” 

“I can believe that she is beautiful,” said the King. “I 
have always had a taste for beauty myself.” Here he bowed 
to his wife who blushed and smiled. “But before I give my 
consent to your marriage with a Fairy Princess, I must be 
sure she is good and kind at heart. Remember that you are 
the Prince of Magicland, a fit match for the daughter of the 
Fairy Queen herself.” 

“Loribell will never marry me for my high position,” said 

[ 66 ] 


THE THREE SHIPS 

Rex proudly. “She will marry me for love of my own poor 
self.” 

“Prove that to us,” said the King, “and we will give our 
blessing to your wedding.” 

So Rex sailed back to Fairyland and his daily talks with 
Loribell. 

And now Loribell’s nights were troubled. She knew how 
unhappy her mother would be if she married beneath the rank 
of Prince. And yet she knew that her heart had gone into 
the keeping of the shepherd boy. The morning of her 
mother’s return, on New Year’s Day, she promised softly to 
be his bride, though in truth she thought Rex a queer name 
for a herder of flocks. 

As soon as the greetings were spoken she knelt before her 
mother, “Oh Princess, also my mother,” she said, “I have 
given my heart into the keeping of Rex, the shepherd boy. I 
would marry him at once.” 

The Princess looked long at her daughter and then at 
her faithful guardian, Goosey Gander. The Great Gander 
slowly nodded his head and looked toward the window. With¬ 
out rested three swanlike ships. The Princess spoke again to 
her daughter. 

“Is he wise and kind and good, my child?” she asked. 

“Wise and kind and good—and handsome,” quoth Lori¬ 
bell. 

The Princess laid her hand on Loribell’s head. “Send 
then for him,” she commanded. 

Into the hall stepped Rex and knelt before his heart’s 
desire. He turned his face nobly toward the Princess-mother. 

“I am Rex, a keeper of the sheep,” he said humbly and 
yet with a pride that did not escape the mother. “My rank 
is lowly, but your daughter has consented to share it.” 

[ 67 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“His heart is of gold, Mother,” said Loribell, looking 
eagerly at her lover. 

The Princess looked at Rex. Behind him rested the three 
ships. About him shone a light that told her he was no 
ordinary flock keeper. 

“What will your parents have to say of this marriage, Rex 
the Shepherd?” she asked. 

“Their answer is here,” cried Goosey Gander. 

And behold, in the three ships sat three lovely girls, one 
singing in a voice of silver, one whistling as merrily as any 
blackbird, and one playing sweetly on the violin. 

Rex cried out for joy. “They are glad, glad,” he cried. 
“See, they have sent the three most beautiful girls in Magic- 
land to be your maids-in-waiting. Will you accept them, 
Loribell?” 

The Princess was well pleased. Such state was not com¬ 
mon even in Fairyland. Rex was proud and happy, though 
he knew, too, how much it meant for his father the King never 
to see his son again for more than fifty-nine minutes at a time. 
And Loribell? Once again Goosey Gander had guided her to 
happiness. 

She was well content, for ever after. 



[68] 


CURLY LOCKS 


Curly Locks , Curly Locks , wilt thou be mine? 
Thou shalt not wash dishes, nor yet feed the swine. 
But sit opi a cushion and sew a fine seam 
And feast upon strawberries , sugar and cream. 



[HE Story Gnome seems to be feeling quite 
romantic lately. His last tale was a romance, 
and this one has more sighs and longings even 
than the story of the Three Ships, which had 
a very happy ending, didn’t it? 

Curly Locks was the fairy child of very 
sensible parents. You will know how sensible when I tell you 
that they brought the very first galosh to an Earth child and 
were always known as Mother and Father Galosh after that. 
They were responsible too for umbrellas and raincoats and 
other things to keep us warm and dry which they coaxed the 
King of Formland to send over to Earthland, where they 
were regarded with mixed feelings. And why the sponsors 
of galoshes should have a daughter whose head was covered 
with soft, flat golden curls, whose feet were slim and narrow, 
whose eyes were a mischievous brown, whose cheeks were 
pink as the sunrise, and whose step was as graceful as a flower 
in the wind, I can’t tell you, but they did. 

“Now then,” said Mother Galosh to Father Galosh. “It 
is plain to be seen that we have a frivolous child. She is really 
lovely enough to be a maid-in-waiting to our Queen and per- 
[ 69 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


haps she will be chosen. But you know my theories about 
children. She must learn to be useful as well as ornamental.” 

Father Galosh nodded solemnly. He was very proud of 
this beautiful daughter and sure that she resembled some one 
on his side of the family, but he agreed that Curly Locks should 
be trained to be useful. 

By the time she was half past three she could button her 
own blue shoes. By the time she was half past four she could 
brush her own curls until they shone like water in the sun¬ 
light, and by the time she was half past five she could say the 
alphabet backward, which is a magic way of saying it. 

Mother and Father Galosh were extremely busy whenever 
it rained on earth, reminding children to be sure to wear their 
overshoes when they went to school, or popping the idea of 
"Johnny, you must wear your galoshes” into some earth 
mother’s head, just when Johnny was nearly late anyway. 
So they left much of the keeping of the house to Curly Locks. 
Just think of yourself on rainy days and you can imagine how 
busy they were. 

Curly Locks would wash the breakfast dishes, sprinkle 
white sand on the kitchen floor in neat patterns, make a grocery 
list with a peacock feather which read like this, “daerb, rettub, 
sessalom,” and trip off in her blue shoes to get the day’s 
supplies. When Father and Mother Galosh returned from 
Earthland, they would find supper neatly spread, and Mother 
Galosh would peer around the house looking for a speck of 
dust which she never found, for Curly Locks, in spite of her 
beauty, was a very practical little person and really loved to 
keep house. 

In between the times her tasks occupied, Curly Locks 
would play with the other fairy children, dancing, picking 
buttercups, and singing songs which Tom the Piper played. 
[ 70 ] 
































































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Her favorite playmate was Tick, the son of Tock the watch¬ 
maker to the Fairy Queen. He was a very neat fairy too, fond 
of doing things exactly so, a taste which he inherited from his 
father no doubt. As they grew older and the time came for 
the Fairy tests which made them into grown-up fairies, they 
decided that some day they would live in a neat little green 
house with red shutters and a silver-gray cat to lie on the 
doorstep. 

But Curly Locks was by this time so very beautiful that 
she had other suitors from all over Fairyland. When the day 
came for the Fairy Queen to review Curly Locks’ tasks and 
award her the ten-minute spell that all grown-up fairies can 
use, Curly Locks cleaned the Galosh cottage until it fairly 
shone, and made a pattern of watch wheels which Tick had 
shown her with white sand on the kitchen floor. It was all 
sweet and clean and the Fairy Queen was much pleased. 

“You are such a lovely girl, and so tidy withal,” she said, 
“that I would like you to come to court to be a maid-in-waiting 
until such time as you choose a suitor and have a home of your 
own to be mistress over.” 

Poor Curly Locks! This was a great honor, the greatest 
honor that could come to a young lady fairy. She looked at 
her parents. How proud they were. Even Mother Galosh 
shed an impractical tear and immediately regretted that she 
had not worn her usual dress of gray blotting paper. Father 
Galosh was swelled with pride until he looked like Wugg the 
frog. And most of all the Fairy Queen smiled so sweetly at 
the girl, the other maids-in-waiting looked so lovingly at her 
curly head that she nodded and said in a whisper, “I shall 
count it a great honor to come, your Majesty.” 

So off to the court she went, wearing her sweet glass slip¬ 
pers and a dress of spring-time green. There she was at once 
[ 72 ] 


CURLY LOCKS 


surrounded by friends who praised her for her beauty and 
wondered at her industriousness. For she could not bear to 
be idle. She made lovely laces for the Fairy Queen and the 
other maids-in-waiting; she went into the kitchen and made 
delicious sea foam; and she often did the mending for the 
maids-in-waiting who disliked to sew on their own buttons, 
even though they were of silver sewn with golden thread. 

All this time too she had offers of marriage, some of them 
from Princes, but fast in her heart was locked the image of 
Tick, the watchmaker’s son, and of the red and green cottage 
with the silver cat on the doorstep that they had planned for 
so many years. 

Poor Tick. Things were going badly with him. He became 
untidy and careless. He lost interest in his invention of a 
watch that would ring a little bell every fifty-eight minutes to 
warn the fairies who were in Magicland that they had just one 
minute more to stay. He thought constantly of Curly Locks, 
and it made his heart very sore to hear the stories of this 
Prince and that Prince all seeking Curly Locks’ hand in 
marriage. 

But he took heart when week after week went by and there 
was no word of Curly Locks’ accepting any of these offers. 
He noticed, too, how lonely Father Galosh seemed in the eve¬ 
nings, and how even Mother Galosh seemed to miss her daugh¬ 
ter, even while she spoke proudly of Curly Locks’ progress at 
court. 

In time Tick was able to work again. He worked and 
worked over his invention of the little watch and finally showed 
it to his father, who tested it in all manner of ways and found 
it perfect. 

“You must carry this to the Fairy Queen,” cried Tock, 
in great excitement. “Take it to her at once. It is a wonder- 
[ 73 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


ful invention that will save her any amount of trouble over 
careless fairies who stay too long in Magicland.” 

So with a thumping heart Tick went to court. The Fairy 
Queen received him kindly, especially when she learned that 
he was a great friend of Curly Locks. 

Tick explained the purpose of his watch to her and showed 
her how it worked. The Queen listened attentively and 
thought she had never seen a youth so blind to her beauty, 
for Tick kept casting his eyes toward Curly Locks, who seemed 
taller and grander and more beautiful than ever in her court 
frock spangled with star dust. 

He saw, too, that other young men fairies cast longing 
glances in Curly Locks’ direction, and his heart grew heavier 
than ever, for he had had some idea of speaking to her and 
asking her if she had changed her mind a great deal in the 
last few weeks. 

When the Queen had examined the watch thoroughly she 
said, “This is a very fine invention and I think any one with 
a mind like yours should be free to do nothing but think of 
ways of improving Fairyland. Therefore I grant you from 
the royal supply house the material for any kind of cottage 
you may wish, and a supply of food and clothing from year 
to year, in addition to one new silver dollar.” 

The whole court gasped and applauded, for this was a 
splendid gift indeed and made Tick independent for life. Even 
Tick was pleased for a moment and remembered to thank the 
Queen. Then he began thinking of all the differences between 
the cottage he could offer Curly Locks and the palaces she 
had at her command and he grew unhappier than ever. As 
he was leaving the court room Curly Locks ran to him. 

“Have you forgotten me so soon, Tick?” she asked. 

The poor lovelorn fellow burst into tears: 

[ 74 ] 


CURLY LOCKS 


“Curly Locks, Curly Locks wilt thou be mine? 

Thou shalt not wash dishes nor yet feed the swine.” 

Curly Locks cast her eyes down and blushed. 

“I will do everything about the house,” went on Tick. 
“You need never soil your lily-white hands.” 

“I will be yours very gladly, Tick,” said Curly Locks. 
“But I could never be content to be idle all day long.” 
“Then,” cried Tick, 

“You shall sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam 
And feast on strawberries, sugar and cream.” 

So it was. And everybody was pleased. Most of all Father 
and Mother Galosh who had missed their daughter more than 
they were willing to admit and loved to go in after years to 
stroke the silver-gray cat and admire the fine seams that Curly 
Locks sewed in the green cottage with the red shutters. 

Then, too, Father Galosh was fond of strawberries. 



[75] 


HUMPTY DUMPTY 


Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall , 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall . 

All the King's horses and all the King's men 
Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. 

HIS is another story of Formland. Story 
Gnome came in mopping his brow early one 
morning and looking rather tired and fagged. 

“Did you have an egg for breakfast this 
morning?” he asked. 

“Yes, I did. Would you like oiie?” said 
I, hoping there was one left in the ice-box if 
he accepted my offer. 

He made a face. “I never eat anything as fresh as an 
egg,” he said. I didn’t inquire into his diet, though I am 
sure it is as musty and dusty as he is, moth balls perhaps and 
things like that. I just sat and waited for the story I felt 
sure was coming. 

“I’ve been reading that old erudite language of Formland 
all night,” he said after a little pause, “and I’ve finally found 
out about the first egg anybody ever ate and why. It’s very 
interesting—for those who like eggs.” 

It seems that long ago, before she came to live in the Story 
books, the Little Red Hen lived in Formland. She was only 
an Idea then, as Mother Nature was not yet ready for the 
winged things to dwell on earth. She was diligent then as 
she is now, and laid her daily egg and reared her chicks in the 
[ 76 ] 




“QET A FK{Ei'_CRIEO_ F«RM l<INfr. AND -A POT 


OF BLAZING CHARCOAL WAT BOUGHT 











































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


way they should go. But she laid so many eggs, and so often 
had more than she could hatch at the end of a season that 
she began to wonder whether the only purpose of eggs was 
to make chickens. No one had even dreamed of an omelet 
then. 

About this time the extra eggs began to roam around 
Formland, and, as they were among the most fragile of the 
Ideas dwelling there, Form King gave orders that every one 
should be very careful of them. He never wished an Idea to 
be destroyed until it had proved itself worthless or bad. Once 
he even had to turn his chariot out of the road to avoid crushing 
a group of eggs going home after a party. 

Late in the season one day the Little Red Hen laid a very 
large and fine-looking egg. “You will make a big, hearty 
chicken child,” she observed, looking at it as it lay in the 
nest, nearly twice the size of its brothers and sisters. 

“Indeed I won’t,” said the Egg, strolling out of the nest. 
“My name is Humpty Dumpty and I expect to live a long time 
in this country before I’m changed into a chicken.” 

The Little Red Hen felt doubtful about the propriety of 
an egg being so impertinent, and one of her own children at 
that, but as Humpty Dumpty was a very large fine egg and 
one that she could be proud of, she let him pass. He went 
out to explore Formland, quite pleased at the way every one 
took care not to brush against him. 

He lived in Formland many years and saw the departure 
of his mother who was summoned to Earthland by Mother 
Nature to take her place among the feathered creatures that 
began to live on earth about this time. Humpty Dumpty was 
not a very popular egg, he was so large and so arrogant that 
no one was very fond of him, but of course they all obeyed 
Form King’s orders and never jarred him in any way at all. 


HUMPTY DUMPTY 


A long time, as we think of time—but really only a few 
days as they judge things in Formland—after the Little Red 
Hen’s departure, a new Want came into Formland from Earth. 

He told the King that the people of Earthland were tired 
of eating meat all the time and that the Mothers especially 
wanted something quick and easy to get for breakfast. He 
was not an especially big Want, but he was polite and soft 
spoken, so Form King told him to look about and see if there 
was any Idea at present in Formland that he might take back 
with him. 

This Breakfast Want looked about a long time, but he 
saw nothing that he thought suited his purpose, so he went 
back to Earth quite discouraged. However, he returned in 
a week or so and looked about again. He was much larger and 
stronger this time and wore a morning coat and a white vest, 
striped trousers, and a high hat, which he felt was quite an 
impressive costume, as it was. 

Every one was most polite to him and quite willing to 
help him excepting Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty 
jeered at the striped trousers and asked Want where he thought 
he was going with that high hat. 

He did this sort of thing several times, and at last Break¬ 
fast Want, who really did not deserve such treatment, became 
angry. 

Humpty Dumpty loved to climb on a high wall, seat him¬ 
self there carefully, rock back and forth gently and shout 
impolite things at Breakfast Want as he went about his search 
for an Idea to take back from Formland for the Earth people. 

One day Want said to himself, “Fll scramble that fellow 
off that wall some day if he doesn’t watch out. Form King 
can’t do any more than send me away from here, and it looks 
as though I’d have to be going back to Earth soon anyway. 
[ 79 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


I’ll get even with that Humpty Dumpty egg thing before I go, 
see if I don’t.” 

So one day when Humpty Dumpty sat proudly on his wall, 
enjoying his own importance, Want slipped up behind him and 
gave him a great push. Off tumbled Humpty Dumpty and 
into a dozen pieces he broke, and he spread out into the warm 
sunshine. 

“My goodness,” said Want in alarm, “I didn’t know he 
was like that inside.” 

A great alarm sounded. Form King came dashing up 
in his chariot and four. He called for his men, the wisest men 
in his kingdom, and they all stood looking at Humpty Dumpty. 

“I’m terribly cold,” moaned Humpty Dumpty, for all this 
time his shell had kept him warm. 

“Get a fire!” cried Form King. And a pot of blazing 
charcoal was brought. 

They applied the heat to the oozing edges of Humpty 
Dumpty and at once the edges began to grow white and firm. 
They turned the charcoal pot about and about and, as Humpty 
Dumpty grew warmer and more comfortable, he became a 
lovely yellow and white in color, quite firm and independent 
of his shell. 

“He looks good enough to eat now!” observed Form King. 
He had been watching the process with interest, for although 
he counted Humpty Dumpty as one of his most troublesome 
subjects, he had, as I have mentioned, a great aversion to 
seeing any one of his Ideas destroyed. However, he did not 
care how often they changed their forms if they could become 
more useful that way. 

“That is a real Idea,” said Breakfast Want, who had been 
dreadfully sorry for what he had done. “Look!” 

Humpty Dumpty, now perfectly cooked all over, rose from 

[ 80 ] 


HUMPTY DUMPTY 


his shell and looked at his color scheme of yellow and white. 
“Now I’m a fried egg, instead of a bad egg,” he observed. 
“I’m sorry to have troubled you so, Sire. Perhaps if I go with 
this Breakfast Want person down to Earth I can be of some 
use. I feel quite edible.” 

So off they went, Humpty Dumpty the first fried egg, and 
Breakfast Want, to visit Earthland. Here people soon found 
out how many ways Humpty Dumpty could be used, and 
although you of course eat your eggs mostly poached, or soft 
boiled, or in custards, as you grow older you will undoubtedly 
join that great army of men and women who always order the 
original egg, “Fried, on one side only.” 



[31] 



LITTLE MISS MUFFET 


Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet, 

Eating her curds and whey. 

There came a great spider and sat down beside her 
And frightened Miss Muffet away. 

HE should really have been named Miss Prim,” 
said Story Gnome, speaking half aloud as he 
toasted himself by the fire one evening. “Yes, 
really she should have been called Little Miss 
Prim. I am very fond of neat children, but 
these superior ones that are so much better 
than their elders—ugh.” 

I was interested of course and after a few more remarks 
about the young lady in question, Story Gnome told me her 
history. 

She was the child of gay, light-hearted fairies, both of whom 
spent much time at the court of the Fairy Queen. They loved 
dancing and jesting and all manner of good times and often 
went to Earth to whisper funny things to people who write and 
draw funny things for us to look at. And very good it is for 
us to laugh at times. 

When their daughter was born her mother caught her up 
and cried, “She shall be named Molly, jolly Molly Muffet! 
There, how do you like that for a nickname, little sweet?” and 
she tossed Molly up in the air as fairy children are always 
tossed, though it is often very bad for Earth babies to be treated 
this way. 



[ 82 ] 



































































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


But jolly Molly Muffet wasn’t the least bit jolly about being 
tossed. Instead of smiling and crowing she said “Wah!” and 
pulled the corners of her mouth down—so. 

Molly Muffet’s mother nearly dropped the baby she was 
so surprised. Molly Muffet’s father stood on his head so he 
could think better about this strange thing. There just didn’t 
seem to be any precedent for such a happening, so they laid 
the baby down in her milkweed-pod cradle and looked at her. 

She was a sweet little thing, except for her mouth. It was 
puckered and had a slightly curdled look, nor was she at all 
inclined to smile at her parents. Father and Mother Muffet 
stared at each other for a long time, then they called in their 
friends. No one was able to offer them any helpful advice and 
they finally decided to begin at once to give Molly lessons in 
smiling. 

They worked very hard but not a smile could they get, 
though she was good-natured enough. 

“She might be the child of Evileye, she is such a little 
sobersides,” exclaimed Mother Muffet one day. 

At this the baby gave a very correct little smile, tossed her 
heels to just the correct angle, and gave the properest kind of 
crow. 

Father and Mother Muffet were delighted and worked 
harder than ever at teaching their daughter to look happy. 
But the most they ever accomplished was a prim little smile 
and just the proper and judicious amount of gymnastics. 

As she grew older she was really a trial. She never lost 
her temper nor acted naughty at all. She obeyed her parents 
until they were exasperated. If they asked her to dance she 
lifted her skirts to a discreet height, danced a formal step 
about the room, made her bow, and sat down. 

One day her mother said to her, “Molly, I am so tired of 

[ 84 ] 


LITTLE MISS MUFFET 


the way you always shut the door carefully. I wish you’d give 
it a good hard bang once that would shake the house.” 

Molly immediately got up, crossed to the door, opened 
it, and went out into the yard, giving the door a mighty bang. 
She returned in a moment to ask her mother, “Did the house 
shake, Mother Muffet?” and when her mother laughed until 
the tears ran down her face Molly said, “Why do you laugh at 
me? Didn’t I do just as you told me?” 

“Oh, Molly, little Molly, you have no sense of humor at 
all, have you?” 

Molly rocked properly in her little rocker and answered, 
“Just as you say, Mother Muffet.” 

And yet she was a pretty child, with a grave kind of pretti¬ 
ness and a certain dignity to her little head, like the look your 
doll has when you do her hair up and put a long dress on her. 
People often complimented Father and Mother Muffet on 
having so charming a child, and they often said to each other, 
“She really is lovely, if she would only learn to smile.” 

At last the time drew near when she was to pass out of girl¬ 
hood into grown-up Fairyhood and as both Mother and Father 
Muffet were great favorites at court they had hoped their 
daughter would become a maid-in-waiting to the Fairy Queen. 

“But she hasn’t a chance unless she learns to smile charm¬ 
ingly,” said Father Muffet. 

Molly herself wanted to please her parents but she simply 
could not romp, could not muss her dress, could not scramble 
here and there as other fairy children did. So Mother Muffet 
decided to go to Willowitch. Now Willowitch, who is very 
ugly herself, loves pretty things, so Mother Muffet took a 
spangled scarf bound about with bands of tinsel and wrapped 
it in a silver cloth and posted off to the little black hut in 
which Willowitch lives and weaves her spells. 

[ 85 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Mother Muffet knocked on the door and when it opened 
thrust the spangled scarf in its silver cloth into the scrawny 
hand Willowitch held out to receive it. 

Then Mother Muffet said, “I have a daughter Molly—” 

“Who simply isn’t jolly,” finished Willowitch. 

“No, she never, never smiles the livelong day,” agreed 
Mother Muffet. 

“Take Little Molly Muffet and set her on a tuffet 
Beneath the tree whose branches near-by sway,” 
said Willowitch. Just that and nothing more. 

Mother Muffet went home and went straight to Molly’s 
room to get her little tuffet, which is an old word, meaning a 
little bench or chair without a back. This she placed under 
the tree outside the Muffet home and called Molly to her. 

“You are to sit on this tuffet, beneath this tree for a while, 
my dear,” she said to her grave little daughter, who, with a 
solemn nod of her head, sat herself down on the tuffet and 
folded her little hands meekly. 

An hour passed and nothing happened. Then Mother 
Muffet, who was watching with Father Muffet, said, “The poor 
little thing. She looks so little and lonesome. I’m going to 
take her out some supper.” 

So she fixed a blue and yellow bowl of curds and whey, 
which is something like junket or very firm custard and is a 
splendid food for fairies, and took it out to little Molly Muffet, 
who sat uncomplainingly under that tree. 

Molly thanked her mother and began slowly and neatly 
to eat that bowl of curds and whey, using her best company 
manners. In truth she had none but company manners, she 
was such a prim little girl. 

“I almost wish she’d jump up and spill all the curds and 
whey on her clean frock, or take too big a mouthful, or do 
[ 86 ] 


LITTLE MISS MUFFET 


something like other children do, instead of sitting there in 
that perfectly ladylike manner,” sighed Mother Muffet to 
Father Muffet. 

“Look,” said Father Muffet to his wife, clutching her arm. 

Down from the tree, spinning his way on thread of his own 
weaving, came a great black spider. Nearer and nearer Miss 
Muffet he came, his beady eye fixed on that bowl of luscious 
curds and whey. 

Miss Molly Muffet ate calmly on. The spider swung 
himself slowly down. He passed the top of her head. He 
lowered himself to the level of her forehead, then he peered 
straight into her eyes. 

Miss Molly Muffet screamed. Miss Molly Muffet dropped 
the bowl of curds and whey. Miss Molly Muffet jumped and 
ran and screamed for her mother and forgot all her manners 
for one glorious moment. 

The next moment her mother’s arms were about her. 
“There, there, my darling little Molly. The spider won’t hurt 
you. He just wanted some of your supper.” 

Molly Muffet looked around. There on the edge of her 
blue and yellow bowl sat the great black spider greedily eating 
curds and whey. Molly laughed. 

“The poor hungry thing—it was foolish to be so fright¬ 
ened, wasn’t it, Mother?” and she looked up at her mother 
with the most charming smile in the world. 

Then she looked down at her dress all covered with curds 
and whey, “But you don’t mind this, do you, Mother?” and she 
raised her eyes to her mother with another charming, grave 
smile. 

“Mind!” shouted her father. “I should say not. You 
can spoil a dress every day if it will only help you to smile 
like that!” 


[ 87 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Molly looked sweetly at her parents, 6 ‘Please, Father and 
Mother, don’t ask me to be your jolly Molly. I’m just not 
made that way. But I can be your happy Molly, and I think 
I’m going to be able to see a joke from now on. It is funny 
for big me to be afraid of that comparatively small spider, 
isn’t it?” And she smiled her grave smile again. 

Her father and mother hugged her tight and they were all 
very happy. Later in life Molly Muffet grew to be a tall and 
stately fairy with long, graceful hands and a slow, dignified 
walk. But she was always friendly and kind, though never 
jolly, and it was always she who attended the Fairy Queen 
when there were matters of state afoot. 

As for the spider, he ate all the curds and whey he could 
and then crawled back to the tree and soon after mysteriously 
appeared at the door of Willowitch’s hut to ask her if she had 
any more little girls for him to scare. 



[ 88 ] 



SIMPLE SIMON 


Simple Simon met a Pieman , going to the fair. 

Said Simple Simon to the Pieman , “Let me taste your ware .” 
Said the Pieman unto Simon , “Show me first your penny .” 
Said Simple Simon to the Pieman , “Alas, / have not any ” 

OU heard something about the Flighty God- 
S, r? mother in the story about Contrary Mary. She 

^ comes back again in this story of Simple Simon 
wM \ which Story Gnome brought to my fireside not 
1 long ago. She is the fairy who scatters absent- 
mindedness and carelessness about the Earth. 
She seldom does tragic things, but she does 
cause much trouble, and, oddly enough, wherever there is 
trouble there is apt to be a story. 

One day the Flighty Godmother set off in great haste to 
Earthland. She had been equipped with seven watches of 
Tick’s invention, one about each ankle, one on each wrist, one 
hung about her neck, one bound about her head, and one held 
tightly in her left hand. That makes seven, so there was no 
danger of her overstaying herself in Magicland. 

She was on her way to repair a dreadful mistake she had 
caused in Earthland the day before by forgetting to curl the 
other half of an Earth baby’s head. She had wished this par¬ 
ticular Earth child curls as her special fairy gift, and right in 
the midst of her spell to make its hair permanently wavy she 
had remembered something left undone in Fairyland and 
[ 89 ] 








MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


hurried back, leaving the poor baby with six curly locks and 
six straight locks. Now she was on her way to curl the 
remaining straight ones while the baby took his nap. 

En route to Earth she stopped to see her latest godchild, 
Simon. He was a dear little fellow and she loved him out of 
his cradle made of a milkweed pod into her hand, then absent- 
mindedly stuck him in her pocket where he went at once to 
sleep, as good fairy children always do when they are left to 
themselves. Off she flitted to Earthland, bent on giving that 
Earth baby the most beautiful curls in the world. 

While the Flighty Godmother was curling the Earth baby’s 
hair, Simon woke up. The air felt strange to him, and instead 
of crying he poked his head out of his Godmother’s pocket to 
see what was happening. He saw so many strange and inter¬ 
esting things that he floated himself out of the pocket, down 
to the floor of the room. There a strange thing happened to 
him. He suddenly became the size of an Earth child five 
years old, and skipped out of the room, down the stairs, and 
out onto the road. 

There he saw a crowd of little boys and girls all going in 
one direction. Wearing his cap with the red fairy feather he 
followed them, and at last came up with them. For some time 
no one spoke to him. At last a little girl said to him, 6 'What 
is your name, little boy?” 

"My name is Simon,” he answered, taking off his cap with 
the red feather, most politely. 

"Simon what?” asked the little girl, surprised and pleased 
at his politeness. 

"Just Simon,” replied the fairy boy, smiling at the friendly 
little girl. "Can you tell me where we are all going this bright 
morning?” 

"Why to the fair of course,” she answered. "See,” and 

[ 90 ] 

























































































































































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


she showed him two new pennies clasped tightly in her hand. 

“They are very pretty,” said Simon. “What are they 
for?” 

“Well I am not sure whether I shall buy candy, or an apple, 
or a ribbon, or a cake with mine. I should like to buy a pie. 
But I am very young for pie, Mother says.” And the little 
girl gave a glad skip to show how happy she was. 

“What is it to buy?” Simon asked. 

“My goodness,” said the little girl. “Don’t you know any¬ 
thing? Say, listen kids, here’s a little boy who says his name 
is Simon, just Simon. Has anybody ever seen him before? 
Maybe he’s lost.” 

At this several of the children turned to look at Simon. 
They formed a circle about him and one of the older boys took 
up the questioning. 

“What did you say your name was?” he asked. 

“My name is Simon,” said the fairy child, again taking off 
his hat and bowing. 

“Simon what?” asked the big boy. 

“Just Simon,” repeated the fairy child. 

“Where does your mother live?” asked the big boy. 

Simon thought a moment. “In Fairyland,” he said. 

The children gasped. “He must be simple to talk like 
that, say his name is just Simon and his mother lives in Fairy¬ 
land,” said the biggest boy of all. 

“Shhh—perhaps his mother is dead, and he is lost. 
Maybe they told him Fairyland instead of Heaven when she 
died.” It was the kind little girl speaking again and all the 
children looked once more at Simon, then at each other. 

“I think we should be very kind to him,” said the little 
girl. “He is small for his age, and if he is lost and his mother 
dead, he is, he is quite a re-spon-si-bil-i-ty.” She used this 
[ 92 ] 


SIMPLE SIMON 


big word very proudly, having heard it when her mother read 
her a story the day before. 

The children agreed that they must be very kind to this 
little lost Simon who was perhaps simple, and strayed far away 
from home. The kind little girl who had spoken to him first 
took one hand, and the big boy took the other, and they all 
went on toward the fair. 

Now Simon appreciated their kindness a lot. But they 
seemed very strange and large to him. He was not very old and 
he missed his fairy mother. He began to wonder if he would 
ever see her again, and presently a tear stole down one pink 
cheek. 

The kind little girl noticed it. “Don’t cry, Simon,” she 
said. “We will soon be at the fair and there we can have a 
good time seeing all the lovely things to eat, the fine horses, 
and the beautiful ladies.” 

Simon felt cheered at her words. Fairyland was full of 
beautiful ladies and he felt that perhaps his own mother would 
be among the lovely ladies at this fair the children all spoke 
of. 

They came presently, skipping and jostling to the gate of 
the fair grounds. Inside were lovely striped tents with flags 
waving from their tops. There was a sound of voices and 
laughter, and the children quickened their steps. 

And then there at the very gateway stood the Pieman. All 
his pies lay in neat pieces on a tray before him. They were 
freshly baked and smelled entrancingly good. All the children 
stopped to sniff and admire and some of their hands went 
immediately to their pockets. 

“I don’t know whether to spend my penny here or not,” 
said the kind little girl holding Simon’s hand. “Isn’t that 
cherry pie just too wonderful?” 

[ 93 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


By this time some of the boys and girls had spent pennies 
for the treat and were um-ing and ah-ing over its goodness. 
And now came Simon close to the Pieman. 

“Let me taste your ware, I pray good sire,” said the fairy 
child quaintly. 

“Show me first your penny,” said the Pieman, who thought 
Simon looked very young to be away from home alone. 

Simon looked about the group who by this time had turned 
interested faces his way. A tear rolled down his cheek. “Alas, 
I have not any,” he sobbed, longing to be like these Earth 
children just for a moment. 

The kind little girl looked at Simon. The children looked 
at each other. Several of them put their hands to their 
pockets, but the kind little girl was first, “Here, you shall 
have one of my pennies, Simon. Don’t cry. You can spend 
it here if you wish, though you look quite young to be eating 
pie.” She was a very responsible little girl. 

Simon looked gratefully at her, then held the penny out 
to the Pieman. “Have you any magic pies?” he asked, for he 
had heard of magic food and thought a bite of a magic pie 
might help him to get home again. 

“Well,” said the Pieman, “there is this pudding-y or cus¬ 
tard pie which some one told me just came here from Fairy¬ 
land. Maybe that’s what you want.” He held out a slice of 
custard pie to Simon, who took it and had just opened his 
mouth to bite into it when there was a sound of sweet music, 
the ringing of seven little watch bells, and down from the sky 
dropped the Flighty Godmother. 

“Oh, Simon, Simon,” she cried, “I have been so worried 
about you, so terribly worried.” 

Simon leaped to her arms and magically became his tiny 
fairy self again and slipped into her pocket. From this safe 
[ 94 ] 


SIMPLE SIMON 


place he looked down at the astonished faces of the children 
and the Pieman and smiled. 

“Godmother,” he said, “these boys and girls have been 
very good to me. Will you give them each a wish?” 

“Indeed I will,” said the Godmother heartily. 

“Then for each child I ask seven and one bright pennies, 
and for the kind little girl there, and the big boy there, who 
held my hands, a penny they may use and use, but never 
spend.” 

The wish was granted in a twinkling. The Flighty God¬ 
mother and Simon vanished back to Fairyland, leaving pockets 
heavy with new pennies behind them. Each child spent his 
seven and one, and the kind little girl and the kind big boy 
spent their one penny over and over again, yet always found 
it back in their hands, leaving a brother in the seller’s till. 

But best of all they carried happy hearts the day long 
and went home without the tummy ache, though they ate of all 
the fruit of Candyland, and all the sweets of Cakeland, and 
drank of all the juices of Bottleland. 

For this was a Magic Day. 



[ 95 ] 


LITTLE JUMPING JOAN 


Here am /, Little Jumping Joan , 
When nobody’s with me 
I’m always alone . 


^ * r ITTLE JUMPING JOAN is a dear little, queer 

little character who came into Fairyland no 
* one knows how, and who may, some day when 
you are lonely, come jumping into your mind 
to spend a pleasant hour or two. Story Gnome 
thinks she must have strayed from Earthland, 
an orphan child, probably, through Magicland 
with long jumps, and into Fairyland where she stopped and 
looked about her in surprise. 

“I like this land,” she said. Then she bounded into the 
air a yard or so and skimmed over a flower bed. “The trees 
are tall and pretty, the flowers are bright and say ‘howdy, 
howdy’ to me, and every one I have seen has a kind face. I 
think I will stay here.” 

So she started looking about for a house to live in. But 
Fairyland seemed to have no empty houses just then and Little 
Joan, who loved being by herself, didn’t want to live with 
any one, though several people asked her. As she skipped 
and leaped about the country she came to the hut where Wil- 
lowitch lived. 

“Now what can this be?” she said to herself. “It is the 
only ugly place I have seen.” 

[ 96 ] 
































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Willowitch thrust her head out of the door. “Who is 
there, calling my house ugly?” she demanded. 

“I am Little Jumping Joan. Come out to see me. Let 
me see you,” quoth the child, bounding into the air and down 
again. 

Willowitch came out in great surprise. Every one else 
in Fairyland was the least bit afraid of her and here was a 
phenomenal child who danced before her doorway as light 
as the wind. 

“But you are not ugly like your house,” cried Joan. 
“Only your face is queer. But your heart, your heart is of 
pure gold, I can see it glowing. And your eyes are wise, 
wise and old, older than those green hills far away. I could 
love you.” 

Willowitch stared and her lips twitched. All her life the 
fairies had respected her, had feared her as much as was good 
for them, had brought her gifts, and had taken her advice 
in troubled times. But here was a child who said, “I could 
love you.” 

Willowitch felt her heart give a great bound. “And I 
could love you,” she said. 

They stood looking at each other, a child fair of skin, sleek 
and bright of head, with feet that twinkled as she stepped; 
the child and this gnarled, bent, toothless, wrinkled old woman 
who had forgotten more years than she remembered of her 
lifetime, and she could recall the days when the ageless Fairy 
Queen was young. 

Suddenly Joan gave a jump. “There is one that calls 
me,” she cried, and bounded out of sight. Over her shoulder 
she called, “I will return. I will return.” 

Off she bounded to a cottage where a fairy child whose 
parents were on a mission for the Fairy Queen sat lonely in 
[ 98 ] 


LITTLE JUMPING JOAN 


its cottage. Its companions were all about their fairy tasks, 
and it was yet a very young fairy, just learning the first lesson 
of Fairyland, which is to wait patiently. 

It made no outcry, but its heart stirred with longing for 
its mother. “She will be here soon,” the child whispered 
to its heart. And then into the doorway came Joan. 

“I will play with you,” said Joan. “I heard your heart 
call, it is lonely and I came to cheer it. Your tasks are 
finished?” 

“I have only one now,” said the fairy child. “That is to 
wait patiently for my parents. I have waited patiently and 
soon I can go out to play, but the time is long.” 

So Joan sat on the floor of the cottage and they played 
with the sand on the floor, danced to the trill of a bird out¬ 
side, and told each other secrets, until the sound of voices 
outside told them that the other fairy children had finished 
their tasks and had come out to play. 

Joan danced to the door. “Now you are free,” she cried. 
“Now you can play.” 

But the lonely child answered, “I like best to play with 
you. Who are you?” 

“I am Little Jumping Joan,” was the answer. “I only 
come when people are lonely and as you are not lonely now, 
I must go.” Then she bounded out of sight with never a 
glance for the happy children, and the little fairy went out 
to its games and soon forgot Joan. 

Very quickly Joan was at Willowitch’s hut. “I believe 
you are the loneliest thing in all Fairyland,” whispered Joan 
to herself. “Excepting myself. And I am always alone, save 
when some one is with me,” and she smiled to herself. 

Willowitch stepped out of her hut. “You did return?” 
and there was glad surprise in her voice. 

[ 99 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“I shall always return,” said Joan. “It is only when 
some one is sadder than myself that I will leave you.” 

Willowitch looked at the sunlight, along the green fields, 
across the distant hills and down the years. “You are the 
first one who has ever come to me to help me, not to ask 
help for herself. I would take you into my hut but it is dark 
and unpleasant for a child. I would plant vines and make it 
magically beautiful for you, far lovelier than any other place 
in Fairyland, but I am under a vow to a power higher even 
than the Fairy Queen’s, to remain alone, ugly of face, helping 
only those who are brave enough to ask my help.” 

The old woman sighed and looked at Joan. Joan smiled 
at her. “I know what it is to be alone,” she said softly. “I 
am always alone, when nobody’s with me.” 

“That is great magic, child. Take care how you use it,” 
said Willowitch. 

“I know it for a great magic,” said Joan. “I know that 
few can ever be alone, their dreams are with them, their hopes 
are with them, but I am always alone, when nobody’s with me 
—one calls.” 

This time she hurried over the hills to the very edge of 
Fairyland where a poor belated fairy was caught with one 
foot in Fairyland and one in Magicland. 

“I have sent a wish to the Fairy Queen that my poor left 
foot be released,” sobbed the exhausted young fairy who had 
made his first trip through Magicland to Earthland on an 
errand—he was taking a new tooth to a baby. “But until 
she can send me an answering wish and get word to the King 
of Magicland, I must stay here.” 

“Then I will stay with you,” said Joan merrily, hopping 
back and forth from Magicland to Fairyland in a comical way. 


[100] 


LITTLE JUMPING JOAN 

“No one has power over me. When nobody’s with me I’m 
always alone.” 

She plucked flowers that the tired Fairy might sup nectar. 
She called a bluebird to sing for them. She told a gay story 
and recited a magic rhyme about bread and butter so the young 
fairy might not be too hungry. She made him forget his plight 
and the time until his release came seemed like only a minute. 
Off he hurried, thanking her and soon forgetting her for more 
important things. 

Then Joan jumped back to Willowitch’s hut. Willowitch 
came out and watched the sunset. “Others’ hearts call me for 
a moment, but yours calls me always,” said the child Joan. 

“I wish that I might take her to live with me,” said Wil¬ 
lowitch to a great slanting shadow in the sky. The shadow 
shuddered. “But I will be true to my vow.” 

“You must follow your vow and I must follow my loneli¬ 
ness,” said Joan. “But this much you may do: you may 
speak to me when others’ hearts do not call.” 

“That much I may do,” said Willowitch. “I may love 
you and if there are some nights when there are no lonely 
hearts in all the world, you may sleep by my doorstep and I 
will watch over you.” 

Joan nodded. “Some one is always lonely,” she said. 
“One calls, I will return.” 

And off she went to brighten some lonely moment for 
some fairy in trouble. In time, as she grew stronger, she 
answered calls in Earthland too and then she was busy night 
and day, sometimes hardly seeing Willowitch for long weeks 
at a time. 

They were fast friends. She asked nothing of Willowitch. 
Willowitch asked nothing of her. All the fairy children loved 


[101] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


her. She never joined in their games, but when they were 
sad or tired Little Joan came laughing in and cheered them. 

And if you think there isn’t much of a story in this 
rhyme ask Mother to turn the page. But some time when you 
have been hurt, or you are sick, or sorry for something you 
have done, wish for Little Jumping Joan. If your wish is a 
true one and you want to be brave. Little Jumping Joan will 
come. And she will help you I am sure. 



[102] 


LITTLE TOM TUCKER 


Little Tom Tucker 
Sings for his supper. 

What shall we give him? 

White bread and butter. 

How can he cut it without any knife? 
How can he marry without ere a wife? 



ITTLE TOM TUCKER loved to sing. He loved 
to sing just as Tom, the Piper, loved to play. 
He was older than Tom, the Piper, and knew 
all the songs of Fairyland long before his 
brother musician arrived in that country to 
delight it with his playing. All fairies can 
sing, if Story Gnome can be believed. Even 
those who haven’t lovely voices sing about their work and 
play and so keep themselves happy. “I occasionally sing 
myself. Tra-la-la-la,” said the Gnome at the beginning of 
this tale. 

Tom Tucker had a loud and husky voice. He sang in 
his milkweed-pod cradle, and seemed to think that the louder 
he sang the more beautiful his songs were. 

“Really we must do something about this. The neighbors 
are complaining,” said his parents when he was three years 
old. “Of course we want him to be happy, but we don’t 
want to be deafened by this terrible noise he calls singing.” 

But whenever they tried to quiet him down a little he 
would grin at them and say, “Let me be happy,” and when 
[ 103 ] 





MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 

any one would ask him what he wanted to do when he grew 
older he would say, “I am going to be the finest singer in Fairy¬ 
land.” 

And if a voice like a factory whistle and a memory that 
could hold every song of both the old and new times could 
make him the finest singer in Fairyland, Tom Tucker deserved 
the honor. 

He could imitate all manner of birds and beasts too. Once 
he and Wugg the frog had a contest. Wugg has great, power¬ 
ful lungs and can sing, “Knee-deep, knee-deep,” the night 
long. But when the sun came up Tom Tucker was still shout¬ 
ing “Knee-deep, knee-deep,” loud and strong and Wugg’s 
voice was a feeble croak. The listening fairies thought Tom 
Tucker was Wugg, until they heard Wugg give a final, feeble 
“Knee-deep,” and plunge under the water to rest, while Tom 
Tucker went home to breakfast shouting “Knee-deep, knee- 
deep,” at the top of his lungs. 

Tom’s father and mother wanted him to be a fine singer. 
But though they had teachers and teachers for him, he could 
never seem to learn that often the softest song is the most 
beautiful. Then, too, he was very young and sang the sor¬ 
rowful songs of Fairyland with a gusto that made folk laugh 
at him. 

So in time, as all perplexed mothers did sooner or later, 
Tom Tucker’s mother went to see Willowitch. For a long 
time she pondered a gift for Willowitch and at last decided on 
a gift of silence. For three weeks Tom, feeling well and happy 
and strong and proud of himself, had filled all Fairyland with 
noise. So Mother Tucker gathered all the flowers that close 
their eyes at night and from them made a sweet tea which 
she gave young Tom to drink one night. 

And there was silence, deep, blessed silence over Fairy- 

[ 104 ] 








































































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 

land, for Tom did not snore when he slept, and that was a 
mercy. 

Then Mother Tucker went to Willowitch and said, “I 
have gathered all the sleepy flowers and brewed them into a 
tea for my son Tom. You will have twenty-four hours of 
silence. Can you help me to teach my loud singer to be a 
sweet singer?” 

Willowitch gave a long sigh. “You deserve a reward. 
Let me think.” For she had almost forgotten how to think, 
Tom Tucker had been so exuberant these last weeks. 

At last she spoke: 

“Send him out and let him sing, 

Let him sing to earn his bread. 

Turn him out of house and home, 

Let him sing to earn his bed.” 

This was a hard saying for Mother Tucker, for she loved 
her son dearly and had always kept him comfortable. Father 
Tucker felt differently. “It will be a fine thing for the lad,” 
quoth he. “Turn him out hungry and with a ragged suit as 
soon as he returns from sleep.” 

Fortunately for the plan Mother Tucker was summoned 
to court that night, or she might have mended Tom’s ragged 
suit in the morning and fed him full of angel cake before he 
traveled out on this adventure. But Father Tucker gave his 
son a hearty slap on the back and sent him out. Tom Tucker 
was not a whit abashed. He was full of bravado and said, 
“This will be fun, Father. Don’t worry about me. So fine a 
singer as I am will never lack for bread and a place to sleep.” 

Then he set off for a distant part of Fairyland, so distant 
that they had never heard his voice before. It was the land of 
[ 106 ] 


LITTLE TOM TUCKER 


great castles where grand fairies lived who grew flower and 
vegetable Ideas for the Form King. The great farms lay far 
apart, and often the Princes and Princesses who lived there 
saw the Fairy Queen only when she came on her annual visit 
to them, so busy were they about their useful affairs. 

Tom roamed all day through this green and rolling coun¬ 
try and at night came in sight of a glorious castle, high on a 
green hill. He went toward it boldly. He knocked at the 
gate and a voice cried out, “Who is there?” 

“Little Tom Tucker, who would sing for his supper,” 
answered Tom. 

“Then sing!” commanded the voice. 

Now Tom had been saving his voice all day for this 
occasion, and, throwing back his head, he let out such a bel¬ 
low that all the windows in the castle shook, and the roses 
in the garden trembled and shed some of their most beautiful 
petals. The mistress of the castle looked out of the window 
and, seeing her lovely flowers shake with fear at this great 
noise, immediately magicked Tom seven and one miles away 
to a valley surrounded by great hills, too great to be shaken 
by his song. 

“They do not appreciate fine singing at that castle,” said 
Tom to himself when he had recovered from the shock of 
being magicked seven and one miles in a moment. He sang 
a song to the neighboring mountains, who frowned back at 
him, and then went on his way. 

Twice when he sought entertainment in return for his sing¬ 
ing he was turned away by people who looked at him and put 
their hands over their poor ears. There began to creep into 
Tom’s mind the idea that perhaps his singing was too loud 
for such a land. Then too, after three days of wandering about 
without food, and three nights of sleeping on the ground, he 
[ 107 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


began to feel weak and it was a real effort to shout out a ballad 
that could be heard a mile away. 

On the evening of the fourth day he approached the most 
beautiful castle he had yet seen. It was very, very old and its 
gray walls wore a dress of green ivy. Its red chimneys gleamed 
and there was an air of love and light and cheerfulness about 
it that made Tom think longingly of all the comforts of his 
home. He was feeling rather sick, too, with all this fasting 
and walking about. So he approached the castle timidly and 
knocked softly at the great gate before the drawbridge. 

66 Who is there?” cried a voice. 

“Tom Tucker, who would sing for his supper,” Tom made 
answer. 

“Then sing, Tom Tucker. Sing your sweetest, for we 
are fond of music here.” 

So, lonely, hungry, a little frightened at his lack of success 
so far, Tom Tucker sang a song of home, and into his voice, 
weakened and softened by his sufferings, put all his home¬ 
sickness and doubt of himself. 

There was a soft sigh when he finished. “Sing again, 
Tom Tucker,” and the voice was low and musical and Tom 
knew that a fair young girl was speaking. 

So Tom sang again, this time a ballad of Fairyland that is 
one of the saddest songs of all. 

There was a sob when he had finished. The gate swung 
open and a white hand was held out to welcome him in. 
“Come, sweet singer,” said the daughter of the house. 

And now there was scurrying about. What was Tom 
Tucker to have for supper? 

“White bread and butter, of course!” said the master of 
the house, who loved a good song. 

This was a great honor and the bread was brought in great 

[ 108 ] 


LITTLE TOM TUCKER 


piles to hungry Tom and a golden pat of butter beside. 

And now Tom indeed hung his head. How could he cut 
and butter his bread without a knife ? In his arrogance he had 
taken nothing with him, except his great voice that he thought 
so fine. He looked hungrily at the white bread and butter. 

“He has no knife, Father,” said the daughter of the house, 
who was lovelier than stars on a clear night. 

“He shall have mine,” declared the host, offering Tom 
a golden knife with pearls in the handle. 

As he ate, Tom thought of all his boasting, of all his 
false pride in his loud, noisy voice, and before the eyes of the 
lovely daughter of the castle he felt very humble indeed. 

When he had eaten and felt some of his spirits restored, 
Tom thanked his host. In other days, without waiting for an 
invitation, he would have begun to shout songs for them and 
if they did not approve have believed they did not appreci¬ 
ate him. Now, when the Prince and his daughter, the fair 
Felicity, asked him to favor them again with his sweet voice, 
he sang very softly and hesitantly. His memory brought back 
things his teachers had told him, things that he had scorned. 
He remembered sweet songs he had never liked because people 
laughed when he shouted them. For an hour he sang, gaily, 
sadly, all the old and new songs of his country. And the 
Prince and Felicity listened with tears in their eyes. 

At last the Prince spoke, “I cannot believe it, but are 
you that Tom Tucker of whom rumor saith you deafen folk 
with your shouting?” 

“I am that Tom,” said the youth humbly, “but I have 
learned that there are those who know more of music than I 
do. From now on I shall treasure my voice as a precious 
thing to be delicately used to give others pleasure, not just to 
please my noisy self.” 


[ 109 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“I am sure you are the greatest musician in the world,” 
said Felicity shyly. 

“He can be. He will be I am sure,” said the Prince. 
“And now I will leave you young folk to visit while I go to 
count the radishes that are to be red, the radishes that are 
to be white, the radishes that are to be round, and those that 
are to be long on earth this year.” 

Soon rumor carried the word of Tom’s reception at the 
castle of Felicity the Fair back to Fairyland. The story spread 
that Tom had truly become the greatest singer of all Fairyland, 
a sweet singer with a long memory and a gay heart and a kind 
one. 

“This is the Tom Tucker I have always wanted,” said his 
mother proudly. 

Then came word that Tom would bring a bride home 
to his parents. 

“But how can he marry without any wife?” asked Tom’s 
mother. 

She had her answer when she saw Felicity the Fair. Nor 
was her pride the less that it was Tom’s sweet voice that had 
won him his bread, his butter, his golden knife, and his true 
love, Felicity the Fair. 



[ 110 ] 


SEE, SAW, MARJORIE DAW 


See , Saw , Marjorie Daw , 

Johnny shall have a new master. 
He shall get but a penny a day 
Because he can t work any faster. 



WA 


I HIS is a story of the terrible anger of the Fairy 
Queen. Story Gnome was at the court when 
the Fairy Queen’s eyes flashed fire and he says 
that he himself shook before her wrath. “I 
found an old drawing which set me searching 
for the story, some of which I had forgotten,” 
said the Gnome. “It was one of Georgy 
Porgy’s pictures, but one that he never finished. No one, 
not even Georgy, could do justice to the glorious beauty of 
the Queen when she was righteously indignant. Looking 
at the picture there came back to my mind that scene and that 
time. I looked through all the histories and finally found the 
story, in which, as it concerns two Earth children, you may 
be especially interested.” 

It seems that long ago two Earth children were orphaned. 
They had heard of Fairyland and what a delectable place it 
was, and, hand in hand, Marjorie and Jacky Daw set out for 
Fairyland. They came to the edge of Earthland and looked 
across into Magicland, that softly dark country where things 
are only half way. Clasping their hands to form a circle they 
said, “Heart’s desire, oh, heart’s desire, come to us through 
flood and fire.” And this is a strong magic. 

[in] 




MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


They landed in a moment in the heart of Magicland and, 
as they did not know the danger of staying an hour in Magic- 
land, nor have one of Tick’s watches, they paused to look 
about them. Before them stood a dark hut with a slow, lazy 
coil of smoke coming out of its high chimney. As they stood 
watching the fire, out came a little man, a Gnome of Magicland 
who was not wise and good as Story Gnome is. Years ago 
he had behaved very badly and as a result was sentenced to 
make charcoal for the Fairy Queen forever. In his hut stood 
a stove and an open hearth, and all day long and all night long 
through all the years the slow coil of smoke rose from his 
chimney. Twice a year messengers came from the Fairy 
Queen to take the charcoal to the castle, and to leave food for 
the Charcoal Gnome. 

All day long he sawed great logs into suitable sizes for 
the Queen, put them on the slow grate and dried them into 
charcoal. He never had time to rest and after a while he 
forgot that he deserved this fate and began to chafe against 
this task appointed to him. Of late he had been especially 
angry at his fate and when he saw the two Earth children 
standing there so young and so sweet he had a cunning idea. 
Perhaps he could get them to come to help him. 

So he spoke to them softly, 6 ‘Good morrow, children of 
Earth. Whom are you seeking?” 

“We are on our way to Fairyland,” said Marjorie, who was 
the older and had to care for herself and mother her little 
brother Jacky too. 

“It is a long way to Fairyland,” said Charcoal Gnome. 
“Stop here and rest.” He knew that if he could detain the 
children for an hour that they would be in his power. 

Marjorie and Jacky thought him very kind and asked him 
what he did for a living. 


[ 112 ] 
























MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“I make the charcoal for the Fairy Queen,” he told 
them. 

“How wonderful! Don’t you love working for her?” cried 
Marjorie. 

“Let me help you make one piece,” said Jacky, rolling 
up his little sleeve and showing a fat round arm with a dimple 
at the elbow. 

Charcoal Gnome was delighted. If he could get the chil¬ 
dren to stay willingly there would be less chance of their 
complaining and his being found out and punished for keeping 
them from their hearts’ desire. 

So he took them into his hut and showed them the fire. 
He pointed out the green wood smouldering on the hearth, 
and showed them the magic saw with which he sawed the 
logs just so. 

“I could do that I know,” said Jacky. “I’m ’most as big 
as you are anyway.” 

“And I could help,” cried Marjorie. “Watch, oh Gnome.” 
She seized one end of the saw and Jacky the other. Back and 
forth they moved it over the green wood and as they worked 
they chanted, “See saw, see saw, Marjorie and Jacky are both 
named Daw.” 

Charcoal Gnome sat down and rested for the first time in 
a hundred years. The children thought sawing wood for the 
Fairy Queen a great lark and worked on and on while the 
Gnome rested or occasionally got up to fix the fire, much the 
lightest part of his work. 

At the end of the hour they had been in Magicland, Char¬ 
coal Gnome rubbed his hands and chuckled. 

“How would you like to work for me awhile?” he asked, 
well knowing that the children could not escape even though 
they tried ever so hard. 


[ 114 ] 


SEE, SAW, MARJORIE DAW 

“It would be fine, though my back feels a little tired,” 
answered Jacky. 

“I’m not sure that we ought to stop here long,” said Mar¬ 
jorie doubtfully. “We are on our way to Fairyland to live 
you know, and we mustn’t get lost.” 

“Well, of course,” said Charcoal Gnome, “all countries 
are different. If you stay here long enough to forget your 
Earth habits it will be that much easier for you in Fairyland.” 

“That is true,” said Marjorie thoughtfully. “We will 
stay tonight, anyway. And please may we have our suppers ? 
Jacky always has his so regularly I am afraid he will get sick 
if he has to wait.” 

Now here was something Charcoal Gnome had not thought 
of. His provisions were just enough for one, and how he could 
feed three mouths he did not know. But he brought out 
bread and butter and jam for them and decided to give them 
just a little less to eat each day until they were eating hardly 
anything at all. 

At the end of a week he had woven a spell in odd moments 
about the yard so that Marjorie, wishing to take a little walk, 
found herself unable to leave the yard. She went to Char¬ 
coal Gnome and said, “I think we had better be going, Mr. 
Gnome. We are taking entirely too long to get to Fairy¬ 
land and I think we will go tonight.” 

“You may go if you can,” said Charcoal Gnome amiably. 
Then Marjorie, remembering how her feet had stood still at 
the edge of the yard, began to be a little afraid. She said 
nothing to Jacky, for he was still a little boy and must not be 
frightened. 

And when she found that they were completely in the 
power of the Charcoal Gnome, she pretended to Jacky that 
she wanted to stay where they were and make charcoal for the 
[ 115 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


Fairy Queen. Jacky was willing enough, though he did tell 
her he was getting hungry from the skimpy meals they were 
getting. But being polite children they took what Charcoal 
Gnome gave them and did not ask for more. Daily their faces 
grew thinner and they grew more and more weary over the con¬ 
tinual sawing that Charcoal Gnome required of them. 

One day Jacky said to Marjorie, “How would you like to 
have us make some fancy pieces of charcoal for the Fairy 
Queen? I will carve them when we have finished sawing the 
wood at night and we can send them to her for a surprise. 
Then some day when we see her we can tell her that we were 
the ones who did it.” 

Marjorie was glad to have something to keep the fear from 
her mind and she helped Jacky carve some hearts and diamonds 
and a little dog from the green wood. Then, while Charcoal 
Gnome slept, they smouldered them as they had seen him do 
until at last there stood six perfect little charcoal figures ready 
to go to the Fairy Queen. 

Marjorie made Jacky promise not to tell Charcoal Gnome, 
for she felt sure that, for some reason, he would object. She 
simply slipped the pieces in with the rest of the prepared 
charcoal and went on watching over Jacky, keeping him happy, 
sharing her scanty food with him, and never showing that her 
heart grew heavier day by day. 

There came then the messenger from the Fairy Queen’s 
palace. The Charcoal Gnome hid the children that day and, 
as they were looking very thin and he had just had a new 
allowance of provisions left him, he gave them a heartier meal 
than usual. 

At this sign of approval on his part Marjorie plucked up 
courage to wake him after Jacky was asleep and say, “Please, 
please, Mr. Gnome, let us go to Fairyland.” 

[ 116 ] 


SEE, SAW, MARJORIE DAW 

6 ' 4 1 wiR never let you go,” said the Charcoal Gnome in a 
terrible voice. 

Marjorie crept back to bed and cried herself to sleep. 

In the palace of the Fairy Queen the Head Fireman was 
counting the supply of charcoal: “Seven hundred and seventy- 
six, seven hundred and seventy-seven, and that’s all,” he 
sighed, for the counting was a tiresome task, “Hello, what’s 
this?” 

He had found the six lovingly carved little charcoal figures. 

In great excitement he took them to the courtroom. He 
craved an audience with the Queen at once. Kneeling before 
her he showed her the figures. 

“Charcoal Gnome has never done this, Your Majesty,” 
he said. “He must have in his power some poor creature who 
loves you.” 

“Search into this at once and report to me,” commanded 
the Queen. 

The Head Fireman magicked himself off to Charcoal 
Gnome’s cottage and went silently about it. All was still 
within. Then he heard a sound that made his ears tingle. 

A low sob. The breathing of a child asleep. Another 
low sob. 

The Head Fireman peered cautiously in the window. 
There lay the two thin little Earth children, fast asleep, Mar¬ 
jorie’s arm thrown protectingly across Jacky. 

Back to the palace sped the Head Fireman. He made 
his report, concluding, “I respectfully suggest, Your Majesty, 
that he has trapped two children of Earth and is making them 
work for him.” 

The Fairy Queen’s eyes flashed. 

“Summon the court,” she cried. Immediately the whole 

[ 117 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


palace was ablaze. Gorgeously dressed fairies hurried in. 
Not once in a century did the Fairy Queen show all her power. 

Now in all her beauty she stood at the head of her court, 
on her head the crown of gold, in her hand the magic wand. 

“We are about to right a great wrong,” she cried in a 
ringing voice. 

Once, twice, thrice, she waved her wand. “Earth open,” 
she commanded. “Earth fly. And stand before me.” 

There was a great rending of the country of Magicland. 
The King of that country trembled, for he knew some one of 
his subjects had offended the Fairy Queen. 

Up from Magicland rose the section of earth on which 
Charcoal Gnome’s cottage stood. Through the air it sailed. 
Into the courtroom flew the cottage, and open fell its walls 
so that all might see. 

Marjorie and Jacky opened their eyes on the most brilliant 
sight they had ever dreamed of. 

Lights, lovely glowing colors, beautiful fairies who smiled 
kindly at them. And then in a voice of piercing sweetness, 
“Stand forth, oh Gnome of the Black and Evil Heart,” spoke 
the glorious Queen. 

Charcoal Gnome rose to his feet. In a clear, unfaltering 
voice he told the whole ugly truth of his dealings with Mar¬ 
jorie and Jacky, such was the Fairy Queen’s power over him. 

“Thou wicked one, thou vile thing, thou Gnome of 
Gnomes,” she cried when he had finished. “Be-gone.” 

There was a blinding flash of light. The Charcoal Gnome’s 
cottage vanished. Marjorie and Jacky stood hand in hand 
looking at a little black lump of charcoal in the shape of a 
gnome which lay at their feet, and from that to the tenderly 
smiling face of the loveliest lady in the world. 

She held out her arms to them. 

[ 118 ] 


SEE, SAW, MARJORIE DAW 

“Come, brave Marjorie Daw,” she said. “Come, Jacky. 
You shall have a new master. And you shall have a whole 
penny a day—for I won’t let you work any faster.” 

She held them close against her magic heart and back into 
their cheeks came the roses, into their eyes the brightness, 
and into their hearts the happiness of which Charcoal Gnome 
had so long robbed them. 



[ 119 ] 


BAA, BAA, BLACKSHEEP 


Baa , baa , blacksheep 
Have you any wool? 

Yes , marry have /, Three bags full , 

Orae for my master and one for my dame , 

Z?ra£ florae for the little boy that cries in the lane . 

HERE was once a fairy family that had a won- 

| | derful sheep. Where other sheep were white he 

I L®© was black. “Not a hard black like ebony,” said 
Story Gnome, who was telling me this story one 
Wm evening quite late, “but a soft black, like night, 
or like the clouds that come before a heavy 

It seems that one morning a little boy fairy came to live 
with the fairy family of this story, and while they were rejoic¬ 
ing over his coming they heard a soft “baa, baa” outside the 
door. They opened it, wondering if the very animals of Fairy¬ 
land were come to make merry with them, and there stood a 
perfectly black sheep. 

He bowed to them and then came into the room on his four 
clattering black feet and went to the cradle of the new boy fairy. 
There he made a second bow as though to say this was his 
master. 

“Who are you?” asked the Fairy Father. 

“I am the Grandfather of all the sheep,” replied the soft 
black beast. 

“Have you come to live with us?” asked the Fairy Mother. 

[ 120 ] 



Cry baby wept and ran away to blao^heeb “I/it 

TRUE THAT Y«U ARE HOT AND UNCOMPORTABIEfHEA/MED. 
















MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“I have, indeed, with your kind permission,” said the 
black sheep. 

Fairies are not afraid to be different so, although there was 
not a black sheep among the neighboring families for miles 
around, Blacksheep was made welcome and sent out to wander 
about among the four-leafed clovers on the lawn. 

Soon his fame was known all over Fairyland. Tom the 
Piper played for him. Tom Tucker sang for him and later 
made up the rhyme you read at the beginning of this story; 
and long, long afterwards, an invisible coat to wear at night was 
made for the Fairy Queen from his wool. 

But though the family was justly proud of this black and 
gentle Grandfather of all the sheep, their baby was proving a 
sad disappointment to them. I have told you of Little Molly 
Muffet whose parents wanted her to be jolly. She never 
smiled, but at least she never cried and was merely grave. 

This baby cried most of the time. His father and mother 
had all the doctors in Fairyland to see him. Every one was 
lovely to him. All his aunts came and sang to him. All his 
uncles brought him toys, but still, on every occasion when he 
was the least bit dissatisfied, he lifted up his voice and wailed. 
Of course I don’t mean that he cried night and day. Simply 
that bumps and knocks and little disappointments that other 
fairy children took good-naturedly as part of their childhood 
sent this little boy off into weeping almost as loud as Tom 
Tucker’s singing before that youth reformed. 

He was quietest and happiest when he was with Blacksheep. 
They loved each other dearly and Blacksheep grieved to see 
his little master be such a Crybaby, for that was the name this 
boy fairy was known by all over the realm. Blacksheep loved 
his big master too, Crybaby’s father, and he was sorrier than 
he could tell, in his sheepish heart, to have so much chagrin 
[ 122 ] 


BAA, BAA, BLACKSHEEP 

visited on this family because of Crybaby, who was a fine boy 
to look at. 

When Crybaby was three the time arrived for his training 
to begin. As I have told you, all the Fairy children have tasks 
to do, but before they are given sheep to mind, or cows to tend, 
or cobwebs to mend, or buttercups to butter, they must learn 
the first lesson, which is to wait patiently. 

And the way of that lesson is this. Father and Mother 
Fairy go about their business early in the morning and leave 
their young child by himself. He may wander about the cottage 
and amuse himself, he may go out into the yard and talk to 
the flowers. But he may not go to the green to play and dance 
and sing until all the slightly older Fairy children have finished 
their tasks, which is three hours later. 

Most Fairy children soon learn this first lesson. The three 
hours on the first day seem long and tedious. On the second 
day the young Fairy child usually learns to keep his thoughts 
and dreams with him for happy company, and by the seventh 
and last day the lesson is generally well learned and the young 
Fairy is ready for some visible task. 

Well, the first day his parents left him. Crybaby yelled the 
whole three hours. The second day was worse, and on the third 
day his wails were simply ear-splitting. His parents were 
ashamed to have him cry so. Blacksheep almost cried himself 
at this strange disposition of his little master. And no one 
seemed to know what to do. 

All this time Blacksheep had worn the same heavy wool 
and, now that summer was at hand, he began to wish that some 
of it might be cut off. But he wished only to give it to the 
Fairy family that had cared for him so kindly, and they were 
too unhappy, just now, to give any thought or time to him. 

“I have a leave of absence from the Queen this morning,” 

[ 123 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


said Mother Fairy on the fourth day when they had left the 
cottage, followed by Crybaby’s sobs. They looked back and 
saw that he had come out into the lane as far as he was per¬ 
mitted by the rules of Fairyland to follow them, and stood there 
leaning against the gate crying and crying. 

“His trouble is that he will think of no one save himself,” 
said Father Fairy. 

“Yes, you are right,” said Mother Fairy. “I am going to 
use my leave of absence to pay a visit to Willowitch.” 

Father Fairy soberly wished her luck and went on about his 
business. 

Mother Fairy came near to Willowitch’s hut. Little Jump¬ 
ing Joan was playing about the dooryard. 

“I cannot go to your Crybaby though he is very unhappy,” 
she said. “Because he likes to hear himself cry.” Then she 
leaped into the air. “One calls,” and she flitted off to accom¬ 
pany Father Fairy on his lonely visit to Earthland, for he was 
so used to having his sweet wife with him that he felt very 
heart-heavy this morning and Joan was just in time to cheer 
him. 

“I have brought you no gift, Willowitch, save my sorrow,” 
said Crybaby’s mother sadly. 

“A mother’s sorrow is powerful magic,” said Willowitch. 
“It will soon leave you and come to me and I will use it in my 
charms. But now return and ask Blacksheep for his wool.” 

Mother Fairy was too astonished for words. But Willo¬ 
witch had shut the door and it was no use to ask her further 
question. She went home and waited for Father Fairy’s return. 

Together they went to follow the advice Willowitch had 
given them in the morning. Crybaby was out now, having a 
happy enough time with the other children, though they never 
dared tease him or romp with him a bit. Blacksheep stood 
[ 124 ] 


BAA, BAA, BLACKSHEEP 

looking on, too borne down by his weight of wool to run about 
in this weather. 

“Baa, baa, Blacksheep, have you any wool for us?” asked 
the Fairies in chorus. 

“Yes, marry have I, two bags full. I have one for you, my 
master,” bowing to Father Fairy. “And one for you, my 
dame,” a bow to Mother Fairy. “And much that I would give 
to Crybaby, but I cannot give up any of it so long as he cries 
in the lane. I shall be glad when he has learned the lesson to 
wait patiently, for I am very warm and hot.” 

Father and Mother Fairy called Crybaby in from his play. 

“Crybaby,” said Mother Fairy tenderly, for she loved her 
little son, even though he had caused her much sorrow and 
trouble. “Crybaby, Blacksheep has a gift for us. Besides he 
is very hot and uncomfortable. He wishes to give us some of 
his wonderful, soft black wool, but he cannot give it until you 
have learned your first lesson, which is to wait patiently alone 
three hours a day for seven and one days.” 

Crybaby wept and ran away to Blacksheep. “Is it true 
that you are hot and uncomfortable?” he asked, throwing his 
arms about the sheep. 

“I am very uncomfortable,” said the sheep feebly. “In 
fact, I fear that I am about to be ill from the great weight of my 
wool.” 

“Cut it off! Cut it off!” said Crybaby. 

“I cannot,” said Blacksheep, “until you have learned your 
first lesson, then I may give you a whole bag full. I have one 
for your dear father and your dear mother, who have been so 
kind to me, too.” 

Crybaby wept again. But, for the first time in his life, he 
wept for some one besides himself. “Poor, hot Blacksheep,” 
he said. Then he straightened himself up. “I will learn my 
[ 125 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


lesson,” he said. “I will stop being a crybaby. I am done with 
crying. But, dear Blacksheep, it is not for the sake of the bag 
of wonderful wool that I will stop crying, but so that you may 
have that great load of hot stuff taken from your back.” 

Crybaby kept his word, and a week later there was a great 
shearing in Fairyland. The Fairyland folk all turned out, and 
when the last snip of fine black wool had been stuffed into a 
bag the Fairy Queen herself appeared. 

“Let me see the brave Fairy Boy who overcame the habit 
of a lifetime for a friend?” she said, smiling at Crybaby, 
who smiled back at her. 

“You will not cry again,” she said sweetly, “and because 
you have learned your lesson so well you shall no longer be 
called Crybaby, but Merryheart.” 

And so he was called ever after. 



[126] 


SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE 


Sing a song of sixpence , a pocket full of rye; 

Four and twenty blackbirds , baked in a pie . 

When the pie was opened , the birds began to sing; 
Was not that a dainty dish to set before the King? 



GIANT came to Fairyland one time,” said 
Story Gnome, appearing suddenly at my win¬ 
dow one morning. “Yes, indeed, a real Giant 
who could touch the sky. But though he was 
so monstrous big he had a heart as soft as 
jelly, and all the Fairy children loved him for 
the way he played with them.” 

“Come in and sit down,” I said, putting out Little Red 
Chair, whose owner was playing in the sand-pile. 

So Story Gnome did, and this is the story he told us. 

This Giant who came to Fairyland was a great, big, jovial, 
kind-hearted fellow, who wanted to see the world. He wandered 
all over the Earth, took two strides through Magicland, 
which did not please him, and arrived in Fairyland, where the 
wondrous green of the fields and hills, and the soft blue of the 
sky, and the sweet faces of the children, pleased him wondrous 
well. 

After wandering about for a few days, being careful not to 
step on any one, he decided to remain in Fairyland. But, being 
a very polite Giant, and so extremely large, he thought he 
ought to ask permission from the Fairy King to inhabit one 
[ 127 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


of the mountains where there was a cave big enough to accom¬ 
modate him. 

So off he stepped to the Palace, which was about the only 
building in Fairyland he could get into comfortably. 

“Good morning, Sire,” he said to the Fairy King, who was 
holding court that morning. 

“Good morrow,” said the Fairy King. “What may be your 
name and what your desire?” 

“I am Sixpence, the Giant,” quoth the huge creature. 
“And I would live in Fairyland forever.” 

The King gave a great laugh. “I do not mean to offend 
you,” he said. “But tell me how it is that so great a fellow as 
yourself is named for so small a piece of money.” 

“I do not know, sire,” answered the Giant, “unless it is 
that at the time I was born there was famine upon the Earth 
and sixpence seemed a large sum.” 

The King nodded. “Perhaps so. But, at any rate, you 
are much larger than most of my subjects, and I must be sure 
of your wisdom and your goodness of heart before I grant you 
permission to live among us. Bring me, in seven days and one, 
a gift that will prove you are both wise and kind of heart.” 

Poor Sixpence, he was not a very wise Giant, though he 
was wise enough to know that. And he did so want to stay in 
Fairyland. He walked about for two whole days, trying to 
think of some suitable gift for the Fairy King. 

“Why didn’t I bring something from Earth?” he thought. 
He put his hand into his pocket, but there was nothing there 
save some rye he had picked one night in a rye-field on Earth. 
“The King cares nothing for rye,” he said, disconsolately—I 
hope you can remember that word—to himself. 

Late the next afternoon some of the children with whom he 
had been playing said to him, “Why don’t you go to see Willo- 
[ 128 ] 













































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


witch, Sixpence? She knows everything and will help you. 
But, no matter how silly her advice sounds, be sure to take it. 
She never makes a mistake.” 

Then they gathered a wreath of flowers for him to take to 
Willowitch to use in her spells, and off he lumbered, to tower 
over the little hut from which came green and blue and bright 
pink smoke, for Willowitch was busy. 

He was afraid to knock at the door, his hand was so big. 
So he dropped the wreath down the chimney. Presently Willo¬ 
witch stuck her head out of the door. 

“What is it?” she snapped. For she was very busy. 

“I, a foolish Giant named Sixpence, must take a gift to the 
Fairy King that will show him I am both wise and kind,” said 
Sixpence. 

“The King likes pie,” said Willowitch. “The King also 
likes blackbirds,” and, with that, she slammed the door. 

“Now what did she mean by that?” said Sixpence to him¬ 
self. Then he went off to his cave to try to puzzle out a mean¬ 
ing to this strange advice. 

“The King likes blackbirds; the King likes pie. The King 
likes pie; the King likes blackbirds.” Over and over he re¬ 
peated the words and with each repetition they seemed to mean 
less. 

He thought all night and in the morning had an idea. 
“Why, of course. A blackbird pie! That will be easy, for I 
can catch the birds with the rye I have in my pocket.” 

So first he made a great pie crust a yard across. Then he 
scattered the rye at the entrance to his cave and waited. 

Soon the birds came whistling down to the feast and Six¬ 
pence caught them quickly, one after the other, and thrust 
them back into the cave, where they could not fly past his 
great bulk. 


[130] 


SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE 


When he had caught four and twenty he felt that he had 
enough for a pie, and let the others finish the rye and fly back 
to freedom. Then he began to think, with pity, of the birds, 
caught in the cave, whose tender necks he must wring to 
make a blackbird pie for the Fairy King. 

He took one in his great hand. It looked trustfully at him, 
for the birds are very tame in Fairyland. 

“I cannot kill you,” said Sixpence, putting the bird down 
and picking up another. This one, too, he put down, until at 
last he had decided he could not kill a single one of them. 
6 ‘And a blackbird pie I must have, for I am more resolved to 
live in Fairyland than ever,” said he to himself. 

Then he took the birds, one by one, and placed them in 
the yard-wide pie crust. They sat down to rest and nap and 
nap and over them he put the top crust, with plenty of holes 
for air, then he set it in the sun to bake. 

When the crust was thoroughly done he set off to the King 
bearing the great pie on his left shoulder, steadying it with 
his huge right hand. 

The King was playing croquet and he sent word to ask what 
Sixpence wanted. 

“I have a pie here for the King,” said Sixpence. “It is the 
gift he asked me to bring him before I settled down permanently 
in Fairyland.” 

“A pie?” said the King, a little puzzled, but still rather 
pleased, for it was nearly tea time. “Tell him to bring it in.” 

“What kind of pie is it?” he asked Sixpence when the 
Giant had bowed low and rested the huge pie on the green 
grass before the King. 

“A blackbird pie, Sire,” said the Giant. 

“A blackbird pie!” exclaimed the King. “Wait, I must 
call the Queen,” and he hurried into the house, almost in tears. 

[131] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


“You must help me, my dear,” he said to the Queen. 
“That great fool of a Giant has killed enough of my beautiful 
blackbirds to make a pie a yard across. Come, help me banish 
him at once.” 

The Queen came down into the castle yard with the King, 
but when she saw how kind the Giant’s face was she felt sorry 
for him. 

Besides, he had brought them a gift, and whether they 
liked it or not they must be polite. 

So she gave him her hand to kiss and commanded a great 
knife to be brought that he might cut the pie for them. 

Sixpence plunged the knife carefully into the crust so as not 
to hurt any of the living birds inside, and when he had opened 
the pie the blackbirds all began to sing, delighted at the sight 
of the sun and the smell of the air. Sixpence laid the pie wide 
open and the birds rose, circling joyfully about the head of 
the King and Queen and coming to rest on Sixpence’s shoulder. 

As for the King and Queen, they looked at each other and 
burst into happy laughter at the sight of this strange, living pie. 
When they could speak the King said to Sixpence, “What ever 
made you do this odd thing?” 

“Willowitch told me, Sire,” said Sixpence, “that you like 
pie, and also blackbirds.” 

The King laughed again. “Willowitch is a smart woman,” 
he said. “She knew that you were wise enough not to kill the 
birds I love. I know, too, from the way they perch about you, 
that you are kind. Go to your cave. It is yours forever.” 

And off went Sixpence, accompanied by the four and 
twenty blackbirds, every one. 


[ 132 ] 


LAVENDER’S BLUE 


Lavender's blue , diddle, diddle, 

Lavender's green . 

When I am King, diddle, diddle, 

You shall be Queen. 

RE we near the end of this book?” Story 
Gnome asked one morning. 

“Yes we are,” I told him regretfully. 
“This is the next to last story.” 

“Oh dear,” sighed the Gnome. “I have 
told you so few of all the lovely secrets the 
Fairy Queen left me to guard in her Silent 
Library. There are many, many more, and even then I should 
always have one secret that I could never tell.” 

I think his ultimate secret must be like tomorrow—always 
coming, never here. 

Story Gnome began to hum, a dear little tune with a lilt 
in the middle and a period at the end—a sort of happy-ever- 
after song. “That is the music that Tom the Piper wrote to 
the old rhyme,” he said. “He wrote it for Fleurette—look!” 

I followed his glance to my garden and there dancing in 
the breeze were all my lavender flowers aglow. They had heard 
the song Story Gnome hummed and danced for happy memory. 
I watched them while Story Gnome told this next-to-last story. 

Long years ago, on the soft border of Fairyland, there was 
a soft enchanted garden. In it grew all the flowers that are not 
proud. Mignonette, lavender, wild roses, honeysuckle, sun¬ 
flowers, sweet peas, but not the haughty red rose, nor the flaunt¬ 
ing orchid. And in time all the flowers began to wish. They 
wished for a friend, some one who would love them and pluck 
off their withered leaves, and give them water when they were 
thirsty. And as all wishes come true in time, if we wish long 
[ 133 ] 



MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


enough and truly enough, there came to this garden, born of 
their wishes, Fleurette. 

The Fairy Queen had heard the wishes of the flowers in the 
lonely garden and granted them Fleurette, but on the day before 
she came to be their friend and keeper, the Queen talked 
earnestly to the flowers. 

“You must know,” she said, “that this child I send you is 
born of the enchantment of your wishes. She may never leave 
the garden. And you must keep her happy.” 

The flowers promised, and when they woke in the morning, 
there, sleeping under the wild rose bush, lay Fleurette. She 
wore a straight, green dress and her face was like all the 
honeyed flowers that grow. Her feet were bare and her hair 
was free for the wind to whisper in. She opened her eyes and 
smiled about her. Then she stood and made a quaint bow. 

“Good morning, my children,” she said. “I have come to 
care for you, and I hope you will come to care for me.” 

The flowers bowed and laughed softly at this tiny joke. 

Then Fleurette—her name means “Little Flower,” and 
may still be found in the French tongue—went all about her 
enchanted garden, touching this flower, nodding to that one, 
loving them all. 

Lastly she stopped by the bed of sweet lavender. “You are 
little and sweet,” she said. “But you are sturdy, too. Be¬ 
cause you have waited patiently until the last you shall be my 
very own posy,” and she plucked a stalk of lavender and thrust 
it in her hair. 

“Lavender’s blue, diddle, diddle, 

Lavender’s green,” she sang. 

So the years flew over her head. So swiftly that she scarcely 
knew they passed. And how she improved that wild and lonely 
[ 134 ] 






























MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


garden. She planted the buttercups in one-pound squares, 
which is a magic way to plant them. The daffodils were all 
quite daffy and learned to laugh at the wind which they had 
one time feared. And the primroses were as prim and rosy 
as Miss Molly Muffet herself. 

Then one day as she sang to her flowers and they smiled 
back at her, she heard a faint, sweet music borne on the wind. 
She had never seen another person, for this garden was in that 
part of Fairyland where all is simple and alone. The music 
ceased and she went back to her careful tending of the flowers. 
As she stood by the bed of lavender, singing the song that was 
specially theirs, she saw a shadow. 

“Who are you?” she called fearlessly in her sweet, high 
voice. 

“I am Tom the Piper,” answered the comely youth who had 
cast the shadow over Fleurette’s lavender bed. “I can play 
that tune you were singing,” and he put his pipe to his lips 
and played the little melody over and over, with trills and rills, 
and high notes and low, until all the garden was dancing and 
Fleurette had much ado to keep her own feet still. 

“And did you come to see my children?” she asked, when 
he had finished playing and received her thanks. “These 
flowers are my children. This garden is my nursery. Day by 
day I make their beds and keep them happy. And once a year 
I send a posy to the Fairy Queen. Have you ever seen her?” 

“That I have,” said Tom the Piper. “Many times, and 
played for her, too.” 

“Oh, tell me of her!” cried Fleurette. 

So Tom the Piper talked of all the folk of Fairyland, and 
while he talked drank in the loveliness of Fleurette’s face. 
Until this very time Tom had loved his music and given it all 
his heart. Now it seemed that nothing mattered save the smile 
[ 136 ] 


LAVENDER’S BLUE 


of this sweet girl child, and to her smile he made a lovely song. 

Reluctantly at last he went away, leaving a song in Fleur- 
ette s heart. Often and often he returned to spend sunny 
hours with Fleurette and her children. Then one day he spoke 
his heart: 

6 ‘Fleurette, Little Flower, will you marry me and come with 
me to live at the court of the Fairy Queen?” 

Fleurette looked at him, then shook her head. “I am very 
fond of you, Tom the Piper, but I cannot go. I belong here 
with my flowers. I am no grand lady. Why,” here she 
laughed her merry laugh, “I haven’t even a pair of shoes,” 
and she held out her bare white feet. 

“I can buy you golden shoes, and slippers all of glass,” said 
Tom. “You shall have dresses made of moonmist, and a cap 
of silver stars for your sweet yellow hair.” 

Fleurette sighed a little sadly. “No, Tom the Piper. I 
may not leave my garden. I was born of the wishes of my chil¬ 
dren the flowers, and here I must stay.” 

Then Tom went sorrowfully away. He laid his pipe upon 
the shelf and for days sat pensively at home thinking of Fleur¬ 
ette. No one could coax from him a merry note, though some¬ 
times in the night Tom would play music that brought tears 
from the distant listening stars. Day by day he grew paler and 
thinner and felt his heart within him growing heavier. At 
last one night he felt it break and then he laid his pipe away 
for good. 

Now, all these days Fleurette had thought longingly of 
him. She tended her flowers and tried to be merry with them, 
but her heart was with Tom. The flowers understood and 
sorrowed too, for they loved to dance to Tom’s piping. They 
knew he never played at all now, for the wind brought them no 
sweet echoes from his pipe. 

[ 137 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


At last one morning Lavender spoke, "As I am both blue 
and green, Fleurette, I feel your young man needs a tender 
wish.” 

So Fleurette, happy to be able to do anything for Tom, 
whom she loved, sat down and sent him a thousand tender 
wishes. They arrived just as his heart was breaking clear in 
two, and in that very instant some of the broken pieces began 
to heal. 

Tom got to his feet, "I will go to Willowitch,” he said. 
And off he went, taking his pipe, that he might give her some 
songs to use in her spells. 

He arrived at her hut and began to play. Jumping Joan 
capered about in time to his music and after a time Willowitch 
peered out the door and spoke to Tom. 

"Go to your kingdom,” she said. 

That was all, and after a time Tom realized it were better 
to go home and think about what the wise old lady had said, 
rather than wait for more. 

"I have no kingdom,” he said to himself. "I wouldn’t 
know what to do with a kingdom if I had one.” And all night 
long he puzzled over the words. 

That same night Fleurette made a little spell. She took 
nectar from the honeysuckle and a leaf from the lavender. 
She lit it with the glow from a firefly’s lamp, and by this magic 
light she saw the crack in Tom’s heart. She wept until 
morning. 

With the first sunbeam she came to her flowers and spoke 
to them in their beds. 

"Dear children,” she said. "I know that I may not leave 
you. But the heart of the merry piper, who has pleased us all, 
is breaking. What can we do?” 

"Let him come to live with us,” cried Sweet Lavender. 

[ 138 ] 


LAVENDER’S BLUE 


All the flowers clapped their hands and a white butterfly 
flew off excitedly to carry Tom the invitation. But he stopped 
to dally with a violet and never arrived. 

Now, just as the flowers clapped their hands and sent their 
wishes to Tom to come to live with them, Tom’s heart healed. 
He laughed softly to himself and took down his pipe. 

“My kingdom is a maiden’s heart, sweet heart, sweet 
heart,” he sang. Then he put his pipe to his lips and stepped 
out across the morning dew to Fleurette’s garden. 

Now Fleurette was shy as she was sweet and she felt she 
never could tell Tom what it was she truly wanted him to do, 
but she went about her duties in the garden more hopefully than 
before. 

Suddenly she looked up. There was a burst of merry, 
gladsome music. Tom’s shadow fell again across her bed of 
lavender and Tom looked down at her with gay tenderness. 

“Lavender’s blue, diddle, diddle,” he sang. 

“Lavender’s green.” 

Then he took her face between his hands, “Now I am King, 
diddle, diddle. You shall be Queen.” 

And so they dwelt content in Fleurette’s garden. Tom, the 
King of Fleurette’s heart, and Fleurette, Queen of his. Nor 
did they ask a greater kingdom. 


[139] 


HUSH-A-BYE, BABY 


Hush-a-bye, baby, 

In the tree top . 

When the wind blows, 

The cradle will rock . 

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall; 

Down comes baby, cradle and all . 

ND this is the last story, for now. Story 
Gnome wept when he finished it, and sent 
you his love. “I could hardly decide what 
story to tell you for the last one in the book,” 
he said. “There are so many lovely stories, 
so many wonderful secrets, that it was hard 
to choose. But I thought you would like to 
know the story of the Fairies’ lullaby. They sang it for many 
years to their babies and still sing it in the Magic Books. 
Mother Goose sang it years ago in England to the Children 
Who Lived in the Shoe. And now I shall tell the story to you, 
and then leave you for a little while.” 

Once there was a Fairy Mother who had a sweet, sweet 
baby. She and the baby’s father both loved it dearly and 
never left it for an instant, it was so tiny and helpless. They 
were proud as proud of their child, and rather pitied their 
friends in the neighborhood, none of whom had any children. 
By day Mother Fairy sang to her baby and cared for it, bringing 
it smiles and happy wishes from its Father, who was, of course, 
busy, as Fairies always are busy. By night Father Fairy rocked 
[ 140 ] 


































MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


the baby, or told it stories in rhyme, or watched it while it 
slept. They often talked of how fine it would be for the baby 
to learn its lesson of waiting patiently and then to have the 
loveliest woolly lamb in Fairyland to care for. 

And then one morning a dreadful thing happened. There 
was a tap at the door and before the Fairy Mother could call 
“Come” in skipped the Flighty Godmother. She dashed in, 
laid a large white envelope down on the table, said “How’s 
the-baby-kiss-it-for-me,” in one breath, like that, and skittered 
out again. 

Mother Fairy knew, from the golden seal on the envelope, 
that it held a summons from the Fairy Queen. She dared not 
open it until Father Fairy came home. She feared it held an 
order for some mission for the Queen, though she had never 
heard of a young father being ordered away from his tiny baby. 
She never dreamed that it concerned herself, for in Fairyland 
no mother ever dreams of leaving her baby until he is old 
enough for the first lesson. 

So, holding their breath, they opened the letter just as soon 
as Father Fairy came in. It was an invitation to a ball at the 
Palace of the Fairy Queen and was for that very night. No one 
ever dreams of refusing an invitation to the Palace, and yet how 
could they leave their dear, dear baby. 

Of course you have guessed that the Flighty Godmother 
had made one of her usual mistakes and that the invitation 
wasn’t meant for this Father and Mother Fairy at all. But 
there it was. And they had to go. And they couldn’t leave the 
baby. 

“I’m going straight to Willowitch,” declared the Mother 
Fairy. 

“Perhaps she’ll send Jumping Joan to stay with Baby,” 
said the Father Fairy. 

[142] 


HUSH-A-BYE, BABY 


Oh my, no, ’ said the Mother Fairy. “Our baby is neither 
lonely nor unhappy. Jumping Joan would be off in a moment 
to some lonely soul.” 

So the Fairy Mother took a soft kiss from the baby to give 
to Willowitch for a present, and hastened away. 

Willowitch fondled the little kiss in her bony hand and 
then cuddled it close to her heart. At last she said, “Ask the 
Wind, the warm, spring Wind,” and that was all. 

So the Mother Fairy went home and told the Father Fairy 
what Willowitch had said. Hand in hand they stepped to the 
door of their house. They called the Wind. 

“Wind, oh Wind, so soft and slow, 

Where must our dear baby go?” 

And the Wind answered : 

“In the tree top, high so high 
Where I’m always passing by.” 

Then the Wind, who was of Spring and very gentle and 
kind, stopped blowing to talk to the young parents. 

“I am done with the bluster of March,” he said. “And I 
am not ready for the strong winds of Summer. Let me have 
your baby in her milkweed-pod cradle, and I will rock her 
softly while you are at the ball.” 

Back into their house stepped the Fairies and put on their 
baby a sweet-pea bonnet and a dress of thistle-down. She 
smiled at them and when they carried her into the twilight she 
held up her hand for the caress of the Wind. 

Wind stopped and took the milkweed-pod cradle up, up, 
up to the very tree top. There he lodged her safely among 
[ 143 ] 


MOTHER GOOSE SECRETS 


the peach blossoms, near the nest of a swallow, who had builded 
on a neighboring branch. Birds came and peeped at this sweet 
Fairy creature, a butterfly fluttered up to say “howdy, howdy,” 
and a bee stopped and took one of his busy moments to bring 
her a drop of nectar. 

All night long the Fairy Father and Mother tripped a mea¬ 
sure at the Fairy Queen’s ball. When the cock had crowed 
thrice they sped homeward, for no Palace balls are ever over 
before dawn. There, rocking gently in the tree top, was their 
baby, gurgling softly to the Wind, who had thoroughly enjoyed 
himself that night long. 

And now came the question of how Baby was to come down 
from her nest in the tree top. Wind had lodged her quite 
securely in the fork of a slender branch. He was afraid to lift 
her quickly for fear of spilling her out. The tree was slim and 
young, a peach tree in its first blooming, and neither Father nor 
Mother Fairy dared climb it to get their daughter. They 
stood there in great perplexity, looking up at her. 

Then the Tree began to speak: 

“Let the Wind come to me now, 

Bend and break and take my bough.” 

Father and Mother Fairy looked at each other. It seemed 
dreadful to rob Tree of a branch, but they must have their 
precious baby. 

“It will not hurt me,” said Tree, with a Springtime laugh. 
“I have loved having Baby and so has Wind.” 

So Wind came by and broke the branch and floated it down 
to the ground, light as a thistle seed, carrying the cradle and 
the baby safely to Mother and Father Fairy. 

The story spread through Fairyland. The Fairy Queen 

[ 144 ] 


HUSH-A-BYE, BABY 


brought the Tree her thanks and spoke them to the Wind. The 
Flighty Godmother came in tears to apologize for her error. 
And Baby slept soundly through it all. 

Forever after, when Fairy Fathers and Mothers had to leave 
their babies alone they spoke to Wind, who floated the tiny 
cradles to the tree top, lodged them there on slim twigs, and 
when the time came, floated the babies back to Earth in a nest 
of leaves and flowers. 

And that is the story of the Fairies’ Lullaby. 

Hush-a-bye, baby, 

In the tree top. 

When the wind blows, 

The cradle will rock. 

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall; 

Down comes baby, cradle and all. 

And so, goodnight! 



Now, on the next page, Barbara W. Bourjaily has a secret of 
her very own to tell you. 

[145] 



Here is her own secret: “Of course all you children remem¬ 
ber that the Story Gnome said on page one that no matter how 
many secrets he told, there would always be more secrets left for 
him to tell. We all know how nice it is to have a secret and so 
I am going to get the Story Gnome to tell me another book of 
Mother Goose Secrets in a little while” 











' 














